PRESS RELEASE
"YERKIR", UNION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR REPATRIATION AND
SETTLEMENT
12 Sayat-Nova ave., apt. 4, Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Robert Tatoyan,
Tel. +(374 10) 46 48 28
+(374 94) 36 17 93
E-mail: contact@yerkir.org
Web:
October 24, 2008
Yerevan, Armenia
THE NEW FACTS OF VIOLATION OF ARMENIAN MINORITY RIGHTS BY THE GEORGIAN
AUTHORITIES
Despite international obligations assumed by the Georgian government for
the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities in Georgia, despite
numerous recommendations and appeals by international organizations,
including the UN Human rights commission and human rights NGO-s to respect
these obligations, the Georgian authorities continue to ignore and disregard
issues of concern to the Armenian minority, contributing moreover, by a
number of new steps, to the aggravation of tensions and the increase of
discontent.
Within this context, the Georgian authorities have not only continued to
disregard repeated demands by the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church asking to be handed over Armenian churches of Georgia and
particularly the Norashen church in Tbilisi, confiscated in the soviet era,
but have also tacitly encouraged and sometimes even actively helped hostile
actions on behalf of the Georgian clergy which is actively embarked for a
certain time now in the process of self-appropriation of the Armenian
churches in Georgia. In this line of action, the Georgian authorities
recently provided once again construction permits to the clergy of the
Georgian church neighboring Norashen, allowing it to build around Norashen a
surrounding wall carrying Georgian religious ornaments, considerably
complicating in this way the access to the Armenian church.
Due to protest actions of the Armenian community of Tbilisi and to appeals
emanating from Armenian Apostolic Church authorities, several Armenian NGOs,
including "Yerkir" Organization, it was possible to temporarily halt in May
of the current year the hostile activities of Georgian priests, but
construction works around the Armenian Norashen church resumed on a wide
scale a few days ago (see attached photos).
In addition to this hostile policy towards the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Georgia, while dealing with the Armenian minority in their country,
Georgian authorities continue to violate basic international human rights’
and democratic norms pertaining to this field. Thus, among other
shortcomings within this context, they continue to maintain
politically-motivated criminal charges against the political activists of
the Armenian populated Javakheti region and their family members, lately
arrested and imprisoned without real foundations.
Thus, Arthur Poghosyan, an activist of the political movement "Democratic
Alliance "United Javakhk", was recently sentenced to 2.5 years of
imprisonment on the basis of fabricated charges. Another activist of the
movement, Gurgen Shirinyan, has a search warrant issued against him by the
authorities, while his father and aunt are detained and waiting trial. The
leader of "United Javakhk", Vahagn Chakahlyan, in turn, as well as his
juvenile brother, are also in detention in Tbilisi, while their father,
Rouben Chakhalyan, has been set free on bail.
Other issues which are a matter of concern for the Armenian minority still
remain unresolved:
– the Armenian Apostolic Church continues to be deprived of a status of
legal entity;
– the Armenian Minority in Georgia, particularly the part of it living
compactly in the Javakheti region, continues to be under-represented in all
spheres of public life;
– the Georgian central Government continues to enforce the laws obliging
minorities to use exclusively the Georgian language in all fields of public
activity, and particularly in the local administrations and local
educational system within the context of regional self-government.
– posts in the local administration, educational sphere or any other post
for the holders of professional diplomas continue to be contingent on the
knowledge of the Georgian language.
Under the actual circumstances, while Georgia is still recovering with
difficulty from the consequences of the recent armed conflict with Russia
and is announcing the launching of a wave of democratization reforms and the
enforcement of the rule of law, such a treatment by the Georgian authorities
of its Armenian minority looks in fact much more irrational.
Taking into consideration the above mentioned facts, "Yerkir" Union calls
upon the appropriate and specialized structures of the United Nations, the
European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the
Council of Europe, as well as of all other concerned international
organizations and human rights bodies, to take immediate and direct measures
to restrain Georgia’s negative current behavior against its Armenian
minority, to put an end to the political persecutions in Javakheti, and to
facilitate the emergence of a solution for the Armenian community of
Georgia, as far as its minority rights are the issue, and in particular, to
ensure this result by obtaining from the Georgian authorities to:
1.. Set free all political prisoners recently detained in Javakheti and
withdraw all politically motivated criminal charges against them;
2.. Implement the rule of law and guarantee the security of the Armenian
population of Javakheti;
3.. Ensure the freedom of faith in the country and register the Armenian
Apostolic Church as a legal entity in Georgia;
4.. Return all confiscated places of worship to their legitimate owners;
5.. Allow by law the use of the Armenian language in all spheres of public
life in the local administrations of all regions where Armenians represent a
majority.
The international community must act now to avoid further aggravation of the
situation and prevent the emergence of a new seat of conflict.