May 30, 2005

HERITAGE HOLDS PARTY CONGRESS, ELECTS HOVANNISIAN

Yerevan—HERITAGE, a national liberal party, held its third congress at the government conference facility here today.

Attended by 700 delegates from Yerevan and across Armenia, officials from the foreign diplomatic corps, media representatives and invited guests, the convention elected Raffi K. Hovannisian, the Republic's first minister of foreign affairs, as its chairman.  The newly elected executive board comprises high school principal Anahit Bakhshian; former minister of state Hratch Hakobian; law professor Hrair Tovmasian; theology professor Vardan Khatchatrian; Health and Humanitarian Assistance Center director Anania Maghakian; teacher and Artsakh war veteran Davit Badalian; airline executive Gevorg Kalenchian; and economics professor Zoya Tadevosian.

The day's agenda included an invocation by Father Haikazun Mkrtchian of the Armenian Apostolic Church; a moment of silence in tribute to Armenia's fallen heroes; greetings by academician Rafael Ghazarian, People's party chairman Stepan Demirchian, Republic party chairman Aram Sargsian, Progressive Liberal party chairman Hovhannes Hovhannisian, National Democratic party chairman Shavarsh Kocharian, Socialist Union chairman Ashot Manucharian, and Self-Determination Union chairman Paruir Hairikian; the adoption of HERITAGE's charter, program, and proclamation; and the election of its constitutional and audit commissions.

Raffi Hovannisian's “state of the state” address noted the presence of war hero General Arkadiy Ter-Tadevosian, world-renowned conductor Ohan Durian, and boxing champion Israel Hakobkokhian; offered the connection between the Armenian nation's past heritage and future legacy; set forth the priority benchmarks of state sovereignty, national unity, civil liberty, and the rule of law; identified the key challenges of the country's domestic and international life; introduced a ten-point plan for resolution and peace in Karabagh and the broader neighborhood; discussed the pivotal need for the greater good to regulate Turkish-Armenian relations based on an assumption of history; and called for an immediate nationwide transformation of state and society based on true democracy, citizen's rights, and national security.