SHUSHI WILL REGAIN ITS GLORY

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
21 July 2006

Vladimir Kassian, the head of the regional administration of Shushi,
says Shushi is developing too although it cannot be compared to
other regions, which have farming land. The geography and climate of
the town enable having a resort here. The leadership of the region
thinks the town can develop on tourism. "The development of Shushi
will be possible along with development of tourism and organization
of cultural events in Karabakh," says Vladimir Kassian.

Walking in the streets of the town, one can see repaired churches
and houses beside ruined and burnt neighborhoods. Two realities exist
side by side, and the second prevails over the first. Nevertheless,
some construction is going on in the town. The central street was
covered with tarmac, the water pipelines were replaced. At present, the
roadworks are underway on the road connecting Goris-Stepanakert highway
to the central square of Shushi. A hotel, the hospital, the mosque,
apartments and houses are being reconstructed. The head of the regional
administration says next year 1 million dollars will be allocated
to Shushi, which will be spent on the repair of streets. Vladimir
Kassian says the major problems, namely repair of medical stations,
schools, have been repaired, and the focus will fall on reconstruction
of the town. He says there are foreigners who wish to open businesses
in Shushi. Some of them would like to set up a production, but they
mainly consider investing in hotel business. "Considering that good
hotels are essential for development of tourism, we may say that
quality of life in Shushi will be improving over the upcoming years,"
says Vladimir Kassian. He also pointed to the government programme
on declaring Shushi a tax-free area, which will be discussed by the
National Assembly. Besides, the mayor of Yerevan established Shushi
Foundation, and there are already funds, which will be spent on the
drinking water supply system of Shushi and the reconstruction of the
building of Khachatur Abovyan School to turn it into a museum. Vladimir
Kassian says there is unemployment, but according to him, it is not
always because there are no jobs. "It’s amazing, over 100 people are
registered as unemployed but they refuse to work on construction. They
also fail to take part in the contests for vacant positions of civil
servants in one agency or another," he says.

SRBUHI VANIAN.

21-07-2006