ARMENIAN EXPERT SAYS SITUATION IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA "TENSE"
ArmInfo News Agency (In Russian)
July 30 2008
Armenia
Recent attacks on police in Georgia’s predominantly ethnic
Armenian-populated region of Javakheti have to do with the difficult
political and economic situation in the region, an Armenian political
analyst has said.
Sergey Minasyan was quoted by Arminfo news agency as saying that the
situation in Javakheti is "tense and serious".
Two police officers have been killed in the region in the past two
weeks, according to Arminfo. Both policemen were ethnic Armenians. The
police chief of the regional town of Akhalkalaki, Samvel Petrosyan,
survived a bomb blast near his house on 17 July, the report said.
Several members of a local NGO, United Javakh, which is calling for
autonomy for ethnic Armenians of the region, have been arrested in
connection with the arrests, Arminfo said.
"The situation is really tense and serious. At least, the presence
of 500 staff of the Georgian riot police shows this," Minasyan was
quoted as saying. He ruled out Russia’s involvement in the tension
in Javakheti.