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EVERYDAY 1400 PEOPLE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS ARE INFECTED WITH HIV

SEPTEMBER 10. Everyday 1400 people are infected with HIV in South Caucasus. Everyday 15,000 people in the world get this contagion, the manager of the prophylaxis and survey of the republican Center on AIDS prophylaxis Rafael Ohanyan said during the international conference dedicated to the HIV/AIDS problem .

According to him, there are 36 mln HIV infected by the beginning of this year. 700,000 of the total amount of HIV infected live in East Europe and the former USSR. Only during 2000 5.3 mln get infected, 250,000 of them in South Caucasus. 21.8 mln people died from the beginning of the epidemic, 3 mln of them during the last year.

At the beginning of 2001 there were 1.4 mln children suffering from HIV/AIDS, 600,000 of them get infected during the last year. 4.3 mln children died from the beginning of the epidemic and 13.2 mln became orphans as a result of their parents' death from AIDS.

KARABAKH'S DEFENCE MINISTRY DISPROVED REPORT BY AZERBAIJAN'S NATIONAL TELEVISION

SEPTEMBER 10. Karabakh's defence ministry has refuted the report by Azerbaijan's National Television that Karabakh's forces allegedly attacked Sept 6-7 the Azeri positions on the Agdam section of the contact line between the two republics.

As ARMINFO learned from an official of Karabakh's defence army's staff, no such occurrence took place either on the day mentioned in the report or at any other period of time.

Political circles in Karabakh say this is yet another misinformation aimed at compromising Karabakh, who strictly adheres to the principles of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

TURKISH AND AZERI JOURNALISTS ARE OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH THEIR ARMENIAN COLLEAGUES

SEPTEMBER 10.Turkish and Azeri journalists are open to cooperation with their Armenian colleagues, chairman of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan "Yeni Nelsil" Arif Aliev and representative of the Association of Diplomatic Journalists of Turkey Gulsen Solaker said during a press-conference in Yerevan today. They have come to Armenia to take part in a round-table "Overcoming Regional Conflicts and Eliminating the Image of Enemy," organized by the Yerevan press-club.

President of the press-club Boris Navasardyan said the participants in the round-table are expected to adopt a protocol on cooperation to be signed within next month. Navasardyan said the above document envisages implementing joint creative projects and will promote dialogue between different sections of the population of the three countries.

MUSIC AND CULTURE FESTIVAL HELD IN SHUSHI

SEPTEMBER 10. A Music and Culture festival was held in Shushi.

A concert was held in the fortress of the town, the Nagorno-Karabakh Ministry of Culture for Youth and Sport Affairs told ARMINFO. Both local artists and groups and performers from Yerevan and Giumri took part in the festival. The exhibition of Karabakh painters' pictures was held in the framework of the festival.

Attending the festival were Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkadi Ghukassyan, members of the NKR parliament and government. A group of Armenian cultural workers and scientists visited Shushi. The festival was financed by the NKR Ministry of Culture on Youth and Sport Affiars and by the NK Arts Organization representing New-York Culture Institution. According to the above ministry, the Tradition of the Shushi Festival is to be continued.

RUSSEL JOHNSTON: ARMENIA'S ADMISSION TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE WAS SOUND DECISION

SEPTEMBER 10.Armenia's admission to the Council of Europe was a sound decision. The chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe lord Russel Johnston, who yesterday arrived in Yerevan in the framework of his visit to the region, expressed confidence during today's extraordinary session of Armenia's National Assembly.

According to him, Armenia's entry this authoritative international organization supposes the fulfillment of many obligations by the republic. In accordance to the analysis, carried out by European experts of state, parliamentary and independent organizations, stable development of the state is observed in Armenia, lord Russel Johnston mentioned.

As the chairman of the PACE mentioned, all agree with the opinion on necessity of reforms, and difficulties, connected with their implementation, appear not only in Armenia, but in other countries as well. In particular, much is done in Armenia in the plan of constitutional reforms, bills on introducing alterations in the Electoral Code, bills on ombudsman, on state service, on public organizations are in the final stage. The work over the bill on political parties is also going to be finished. A considerable part of these documents have been worked out by direct participation of specialists of the Council of Europe, and, particularly, by the commission on human rights of the CE. Lord Russel Johnston considers very important the adoption of the law on mass media, which guarantees the development of independent mass media

CHAIRMAN OF PACE IS READY TO APOLOGIZE FOR CE'S RECENT STATEMENT BLAMING ELECTIONS TO LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENTS IN KARABAKH

SEPTEMBER 10. Chairman of the PACE, Lord Russel Johnston is ready to apologize for the CE's recent statement blaming the elections to local self-governments in Karabakh, chairman of the parliamentary commission for foreign relations, chairman of Armenia's parliamentary delegation in the CE Ovannes Ovannesyan told ARMINFO.

He said Russel Johnston told him this was a hasty statement. He admitted that he misled the CE political department, Ovannesyan said. He thinks that the CE's statement was an unsuccessful attempt to join in the process of the Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement.

Ovannesyan did not agree with the opinion of vice speaker of Armenia's parliament Tigran Torosyan that the above statement and today's speech of Johnston is the result of poor work of the Armenian delegation in the CE.

Ovannesyan said Armenia's delegation in the CE has both the authority and the political weight. To this testifies the fact that Johnston is not going to make a speech in Azerbaijan's Mili Mejlis (parliament) during his coming visit to this country.

CE'S APPROACH TO ELECTIONS IN LOCAL BODIES OF KARABAKH'S SELF-GOVERNMENT IS MISTAKEN

SEPTEMBER 10. The approach of the Council of Europe to the elections in the bodies of self-government of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a mistaken, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe lord Russel Johnston stated during the meeting with Armenia's Prime Minister Andranik Margarian.

According to him, he is solidary with the position of the U.S. State department on this issue and thinks that the elections in Karabakh will not influence the negotiating process on the Karabakh conflict. Armenian premier mentioned that Yerevan does not intend to budge from earlier proclaimed principles of settlement of the Karabakh conflict. He expressed hope that within the OSCE Minsk Group it will be succeeded to find peaceful solution of the Karabakh problem.

In the course of the meeting the interlocutors touched upon the process of fulfillment of obligations of Armenia after its joining the Council of Europe, as well as the issues of economic policy and integration. The prime minister mentioned that the special commission, created by the decree of the president of the country, follows the course of fulfillment of these obligations and has not come across obstacles yet. The only problem, as to Margarian, is the European convention on human rights, which contradicts Armenia's Constitution. However, he assured that this problem is solvable.