PARTICIPANTS OF RALLY OF MANY THOUSANDS TAKEN PLACE IN AKHALKALAK CONDEMN WHAT HAPPENED IN TSALKA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 13 2006

AKHALKALAK, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the initiative
of the Samtskhe-Javakhk Armenian public organizations council a rally
of many thousands took place on March 11 on the Mesrop Mashtots square
of Akhalkalak as a complaint against the events taken place in Tsalka
two days ago. The rally participants condemned what happened in Tsalka
on March 9, emphasizing that the murder of Gevorg Gevorgian, a 23 years
old inhabitant of the Armenian village of Ghushchi and the two young
men of the same age being injured are a direct consequence of the not
ethnic policy led by the authorities. They speak at the rally about
the dangerous and threating with an explosion situation of Georgian
authorities’ leading the policy of changing the ethnic picture of
the region to the detriment of Armenians. The issue of giving the
Armenian language a state status was touched upon again. Condemning
what happened in Tsalka, at the same time the rally organizers called
on not to subject to provocations. The issue of giving real security
guarantees to the Armenian inhabitation was especially seriously
arosen in the case of condemning the authorities of Georgia. A claim
addressed to the authorities of Georgia, the Georgian Armenians and
the international community was adopted by the participants during
the rally. According to the “A-Info” agency, it’s particularly said
in the document: “Examining the instigating actions in general in the
regions of Georgia populated with Armenians during the recent months
and particularly on March 9 in Tsalka as well as expressing our anxiety
on the occasion of the Armenian population’s security and keeping the
stability in the country, we call on the authorities of Georgia: – to
stop the policy of putting pressure by interracial tension; – to stop
re-population of foreigners in the regions populated with Armenians
what is a reason for interracial tension; – to remain faithful to
their innitial programs of establishing democracy in the country
and solving the problems existing in Javakhk in a democratic way; –
to guarantee real security for Armenians; – to review the law on the
state language of Georgia before the coming elections of the local
self-government bodies, for the reason, that Armenia will be adopted
in Samtskhe-Javakhk as the state language joint with the Georgian
language. At the same time, we call on the nations of Georgia to
understand that the interracial tension can be of benefit for nobody:
everybody will lose in the case of interracial conflicts. We call on
Europe and the international community not to allow for democracy
and the human and civil rights are violated in Georgia. We call on
the Armenians of Georgia to be carefull and united, not to subject to
instigations, not to leave the right way of getting rights.” After the
rally some young people moved to the regional court of Akhalkalak and
the Akhalkalak branch of the Tbilisi State University. The participants
connected the main reason of the procession with discharging the
judge of the Armenian origin as well as with the fact of not accepting
Armenian young people in the univerisity branch. The ingidnated young
people broke the windows of the university building. Some of the young
people gathered at the new Georgian chapel, the chapel servicewomen
let them enter, and they made sure that there is no armament in the
buildings around, they went away. Khachatur Stepanian, a representative
of the Samtskhe-Javakhk Armenian Public Organizations Council mentioned
on the occasion of what happened that no prosession towards the
court and the university wasn’t planned by the rally organizers,
consequencely, what happened in the university and the court has
nothing with the council and rally organizers. Commenting upon the
happened, he expressed an opinion that a group of citizens unpleased
with the authorities of Georgia was subjected to certain provocations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress