June 20, 2006 - 16:35 AMT
"NKR: Past, Present, Future" Conference to Be Held in Stepanakert
June 21 an international scientific conference titled the Nagorno Karabakh Republic: Past, Present, Future, dedicated to the 15th Anniversary of the NKR's declaration will open at Artsakh State University in Stepanakert. About 200 representatives of over ten countries, including France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, the U.K. and Armenia, will participate in the conference initiated by the Republic government, the NKR Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Kamo Atayan said.

"Holding such a representative conference we will reaffirm that the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is a reality, a state that de facto exists having all necessary state structures", the Minister said. According to Kamo Atayan, the fact that "the NKR is developing under conditions of blockade, taking into consideration that the Republic has not been recognized by the international community" is of peculiar interest.

There will be three sections in the course of the conference - historical, cultural, as well as political-legal and social-economic. Kamo Atayan said for the first time the section of culture would be held in the Gandzasar Monastery (XIII century) in the NKR Martakert region, reports De Facto agency.