WORKING MEETING DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS AND SITUATION IN JAVAKHK HELD IN AKHALKALAK

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 06 2006

AKHALKALAK, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A working meeting
on the subject “Format of Dialogue on Problems of Samtskhe-Javakhk
in the Context of Armenian-Georgian Relations” was held on June 4 in
Akhalkalak. The meeting was organized by the Caucasian Media Institute
(Yerevan), Caucasian Institute of Peace, Development and Democracy
(Tbilisi) and the Yerkir Union of NGOs (Yerevan). According to the
A-Info agency, the following persons took part in the meeting: Gia
Nodia and Marina Elbakidze from the Caucasian Institute of Peace,
Development and Democracy, Dia Andguladze (Akhaltsikhe) from the Union
of Democratic Meskhetians, Andrei Khanzhin from the European Center on
Issues of National Minorities (Tbilisi), Armen Darbinian from the Civil
Forum of Javakhk, Alexander Iskandarian and Sergei Minasian from the
Caucasian Media Institute, as well as Zhirayr Shalian and Ani Jafalian
from France, Khachatur Stepanian from the Union of Armenian NGOs,
representatives of Javakhk NGOs, Levon Zurabian from the International
Crisis Group, Sevak Artsruni and Robert Totoyan from the Yerkir
Union of NGos, RA MP Shavarsh Kocharian and ethnographer Hranoush
Kharatian. The meeting participants first of all tried to estimate the
situation in Javakhk and the prospects of Armenian-Georgian relations.

Almost all Armenian participants emphasized the hard situation
formed in Javakhk and considered autonomy to be the most right way
for coming out of this situation, as autonomy, in their opinion,
can become a guarantee for security (demographical, language,
political, cultural-educational, economic, social) of the Armenians
of Javakhk. The Georgian participants, including Gia Nodia, Dia
Andguladze, also emphasized the necessity to improve the situation,
but did not suggest any real ways for this. It was decided to convene
a conference on this problem in autumn and to submit the respective
consultation on solving the issue to the proper bodies.