Artsakh  Newsletter

VOLUME 4, No. 3-4

BRIEFLY...

Stepanakert, April 10.  The National Assembly issued a statement regarding the tragic events in Maragha village of Jraberd province, saying that on April 10, 1992 Azerbaijani armed detachments burst into Maragha village, brutally murdered and deported its population of more than 4,000.  According to the statement, the village was not a legitimate military target. In Maragha,

Azerbaijani armed forces acted out of hatred towards the Armenian population of the village.  Representatives of Russia and Iran, who were visiting Nagorno Karabagh on a peace mission witnessed the events.  The statement said, in part, "The NKR National Assembly appeals to the international community, to the United Nations and its General Assembly, to the OSCE and its

Minsk Group, to the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly and brings to their attention acts of violence against the Armenian population of the Maragha village.  We demand that those acts of violence be condemned based on the norms of international law and qualified as an act of genocide perpetrated by the Azerbaijani Republic against the Armenian people."

NKR Interior Minister Refutes Azerbaijani Allegations

Stepanakert, April 11.  Interior Minister Armen Isagulov gave a press conference for the local mass media in which he stressed that Azerbaijani allegations that the territory of Nagorno Karabagh is used for drug trafficking are "absurd".  He said that the Interior Ministry operates a series of anti-drug programs, which keeps such problems under control.   

"Max Wood" Began Exports to Spain

Stepanakert, April 25.  The Management of "Max Wood" enterprise announced that it had begun exporting semi-finished products from walnut, oak and beech wood to Spain.  The company was created one year ago by the Armenian-Spanish joint-stock "Max Concern" group, which invested $138,000.  The plant employs 40 workers and takes steps to preserve rich Karabagh forests: for every felled tree it plants two new seedlings.  Soon "Max Wood" will start producing finished office furniture. 

Authority to Give Arrest Orders Will Be Transferred to Courts by 2004

Yerevan, March 30.  Foreign Minister Naira Melkumian met with the Senior Staff member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee David Merkel in Yerevan.  Merkel told Melkumian that the Foreign Relations Committee is becoming more interested in resolving the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.  Melkumian said that without a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict there could be no stability in the re

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Stepanakert, April 3.  The Head of the Justice Department Robert Hayrapetian gave a press conference at the headquarters of the Union of Journalists.  Hayrapetian said that the reforms in the judicial system of Nagorno Karabagh are in their final stage.  By 2004, the authority to issue arrest orders will be transferred from the state prosecutor's office to the courts.  Hayrapetian also voiced his support for transferring the prisons under the control of the Justice Department. 

appealing to the international community to recognize Nagorno Karabagh's independence and urging Azerbaijani leaders to take steps towards normalizing relations with Nagorno Karabagh.  Ghoukasian also met with the President of the French-based International Federation for Human Rights, Sidiki Kaba and discussed the legal aspects of the Karabagh conflict settlement.  He also met with the representatives of Armenian organizations of France.   

Representative of Bavarian Red Cross Visits Nagorno Karabagh

Stepanakert, April 10.  President Arkady Ghoukasian received Claus Hieken, the Chief of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Bavarian Red Cross and Werner Meyer a senior reporter of Munich newspaper "Abenzeitung".  Hieken and Meyer, who visited Nagorno Karabagh before and during the years of war, facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid from Germany to Karabagh hospitals.  During their meeting they said they were impressed with the restoration of war-ravaged Stepanakert.  Hieken told Ghoukasian that he closely follows events in Nagorno Karabagh and is ready to assist the young republic. 

Stepanakert, March 10.  The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen Nikolay Gribkov (Russia), Rudolf Perina (U.S.) and Phillip De Suremain (France), as well as the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Vyacheslav Trubnikov, arrived in Stepanakert for a brief working visit.  The Co-

Chairmen met with President Arkady Ghoukasian and Foreign Minister Naira Melkumian and discussed the negotiations process.  Ghoukasian criticized Azerbaijani government's belligerent position saying that it is leading the peace process toward a deadlock.  The OSCE Co-Chairmen stressed that Na

gorno Karabagh is an influential player in the region and promised to work on the resumption of negotiations in their full format.  They called the democratization process in Nagorno Karabagh as a positive development.