KOCHARIAN CHOOSES ARMENIAN-AMERICAN AS SPOKESWOMAN.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian yesterday announced the appointment of Gasia Abgarian as his spokeswoman. The move is the latest in a series of appointments of diaspora figures to government posts in Armenia. A graduate of the University of California and a former chief of the Yerevan office of the Armenian Assembly of America, Abgarian joined the Kocharian administration following his recent ascent to the presidency. During the election campaign Kocharian had promised to increase the role of diaspora representatives in the affairs of the mother country. (Noyan-Tapan, September 1)

TAJIK OPPOSITION COMMANDER APPREHENDS SUSPECTED KILLERS OF UN OBSERVERS.