The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Yury Merzlyakov of Russia, and Matthew Bryza of the United States, have issued the following statement today in connection with the NKR Constitutional Referendum:

Strasbourg, 09.12.2006: This Sunday’s vote organised by the ‘de facto’ authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot have any legal validity. It will not be recognised by the international community and is therefore of no consequence.

Mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghoukasyan was elected president of the Shirak regional council of the Republican party of Armenia by the decision of the regional council of the party.

RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan received Mukhlis Faraun, temporary charge d'affaires of the Syrian Arab Republic to Armenia, in connection with fulfilling his diplomatic mission.

RA NA deputy Yerem Karapetyan has died today. Yerem H. Karapetyan was born on May 1, 1933, in the village of Shahoumyan, region of Ararat.

On December 7, 18-year-old armed soldier of Azeri army Vusal Garachaev Mohamedoghli was taken prisoner in the Aghdam part of the contact line of the Karabakh and Azeri armed forces, official website of the NKR Foreign Ministry informs.

YEREVAN, 8 December 2006 – A short story about a man imprisoned for corruption and a play highlighting the dilemma between a clean conscience and the urge to except a bribe were among the winners of a contest organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Armenian Union of Writers.

By the decision of RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, Ashot Abovyan has been resigned from the post of RA deputy Minister of Justice.

RA President Robert Kocharyan has had a working consultation with the Prime Minister, Ministers of Finance and Economy, Commerce and Economic Development, the President of the Central Bank, heads of the State Tax Service, State Customs Committee and other officials.

RA Public Prosecutor’s office has made a statement according to which the Public Prosecutor has met the relatives of the people who carried out an act of self-arson opposite the President’s Residence today. By the way, the victims have second- and third-degree burns. The statement informs that a criminal case has been initiated in connection with the case.

RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan met NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer today.

The council of GUAM FMs urged the international community to ignore the results of the NKR constitutional referendum scheduled on December 10.

Head of the European Committee delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Per Eklund handed his credentials to RA deputy Foreign Minister Armen Bayburdyan.

Every year hundreds of thousands of human beings, mostly women and young girls, are bought and sold in Europe. The politically correct terminology for this outrage is trafficking in human beings, but the fact is that slavery is back in Europe, and that our governments are not doing enough to fight it.

Message by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Occasion of World AIDS Day. In the 25 years since the first case was reported, AIDS has changed the world. It has killed 25 million people, and infected 40 million more. It has become the world’s leading cause of death among both women and men aged 15 to 59.

On November 29 the parliament of Argentina passed the bill on “Fixing a Day of Tolerance and Respect among the Nations”. The bill was adopted with 175 votes for and two abstentions.

RA Human Rights Office has placed an order to become a member of International Coordination Committee (ICC) dealing with human rights protection and their promotion. The members of the ICC must meet the Parisian principles.

Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), visited Armenia on November 29. In Yerevan, Mr. Wollack met with senior Armenian government officials to review NDI activities and outline its nonpartisan programs to help strengthen democracy in Armenia.

RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan received newly appointed Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Serge Smessov. He congratulated the Ambassador on the start of his diplomatic mission in our country and voiced confidence that during his office the friendship between the two countries will develop still more.

Today RA Prime Minster Andranik Margaryan received Mohamed Reza Eskandar, Minster of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Azerbaijani government’s aggressive moves to silence independent media and the leading opposition party last week not only raises obvious human rights problems but will have a detrimental effect on efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

On the initiative of the Armenian consulate general in San Paolo, in the 2007 February Brazilian carnival one of the best carnival schools of the country will represent Armenia as part of the program.

On November 27 RA President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree about awarding a number of workers of television and radio in connection with the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Armenian Radio and the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Public Television.

On November 28 Robert Kocharyan will leave for Minsk in order to participate in the recurrent session of the Presidents of the CIS countries.