"YERKIR" UNION CALLS ON GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES TO RELEASE IMMEDIATELY RELATIVES OF VAHAGN CHAKHALIAN AND GURGEN SHIRINIAN
Noyan Tapan
Au gust 1, 2008
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, NOYAN TAPAN. "Yerkir" Union of Repatriation NGOs
called on the Georgian authorities to ensure a fair and impartial
inquiry into the recent events in Akhalkalak and to release immediately
the relatives of the leader of the democratic alliance "United Javakhk"
Vahagn Chakhalian and the alliance member Gurgen Shirinian. Robert
Tatoyan, program coordinator of "Yerkir" Union stated this at the
July 31 press conference. According to him, the events in Akhalkalak
are the result of the unwillingness of Georgian authorities to give a
real solution to the problems of the ethnic minorities. "Instead the
Georgian authorities prefer to use force to repress any manifestation
of legal protest," he said.
R. Tatoyan reminded that after the July 17 explosion near the house
of the Akhalkalak police head Samvel Petrosian, the police started
an unprecedented wave of persecutions against activists of "United
Javakhk": more than ten members of the alliance were taken to police
with the use of force and violence. Father and brother of G. Shirinian
were arrested on July 17, while V. Chakhalian, his father and under-age
broher were arrested on July 21.
Member of the Union of Armenian Lawyers Stepan Voskanian said that a
fact-finding group of "Yerkir" Union went to Akhalkalak and found out
that all the arrests were made with gross violation of human rights
and were accompanied by violence.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
