SEPTEMBER 2, STEPANAKERT

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
6 Sept 04

On September 2 Nagorni Karabakh celebrated the Day of Republic. On this
occasion the official delegation of Armenia arrived in Stepanakert,
headed by the RA minister of defence Serge Sarghissian . In the
delegation were also included the minister of culture, the head of
the tax agency of Armenia, the mayor of Yerevan, other officials. By
the rooted tradition the celebration of the holiday starts with
commemoration of the people due to whom independence was achieved. At
12:00 the officials of Karabakh and the guests visited the memorial
complex in Stepanakert. The NKR youth organizations held a peaceful
march for the preservation of the achievements of the people, and
the greatest of these â^À^Ó the independence. After the ceremony
of laying flowers NKR president Arkady Ghukassian answered the
questions of journalists. He emphasized that independence is the
most important achievement of the people of Nagorni Karabakh, and it
cannot be viewed at as a temporary status. â^À^ÜWe gained the right
for independence through the bloodshed of war, victims and terrible
sufferings. We proved to the world that we are able to create a state
and live independent of Azerbaijan,â^À^Ý said Arkady Ghukassian. In
his turn the minister of defence of Armenia Serge Sarghissian noticed
that the opinion of the NKR president is very important but he is,
nevertheless, convinced that there will come a day when Karabakh will
deny its independence to become united with Armenia. This had been the
aim of the national movement and from this everything began. In the
evening of September 2 at the square of Renaissance in Stepanakert a
concert took place with the participation of Karabakh, Armenian and
Russian artists. The invitation of the Russian artists was financed
by our compatriots living in Moscow. On September 2 the minister of
defence of Armenia Serge Sarghissian, speaking about the prospects
of regulation of the Karabakh conflict, mentioned that the Armenian
party will not give up the three principles of regulation which have
been published already. â^À^ÜThese conditions have been known for
a long time now: the independent status of Nagorni Karabakh from
Azerbaijan, land border with Armenia and trustable guarantees for
the security of the population of Nagorni Karabakh. Armenia sees the
final settlement of the conflict only in the case of following these
three conditions,â^À^Ý said Serge Sarghissian.

NAIRA HAYRUMIAN. 06-09-2004

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress