GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES CREATED A NEW HOTBED OF CRISIS IN JAVAKHK
AZG Armenian Daily
17/02/2009
Javakhk
Interview with the President of Yerkir Union of Public Organizations
on Repatriation and Settlement Sevak Artsruni
– Mr. Artsruni, how do you assess the situation in Javakhk today
taking into account the recent arrests in Akhaltskha, the continuous
suspension of Vahagn Chakhalian’s court procedure and delay in
registration of Armenian-French attorney Patrick Arapian?
– From the first hours of the arrests in Akhaltskha, it was clear to us
that because of the day-by-day increasing interest of the international
community in problems of the Armenians of Georgia and Javakhk, the
Georgian authorities would create a new hotbed of crisis in Javakhk. It
is clear that it will be easy for them to speculate on Akhaltskha
arrests trying to depreciate the demands of the Georgian Armenians.
– Could you make detailed comment on the two directions of the pressure
that Georgia tries to exert?
– If we speak of the influence on the Republic of Armenia, in this
field the Georgian authorities aim at converting the all-Armenian
little-by-little increasing interest in protection of the legal rights
of the Armenians of Javakhk into a subject of Armenian-Georgian
negotiations and demanding the Armenian authorities to neutralize
the process.
– In case of the international community, under the conditions
of Russian-Georgian crisis in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
the aim of the Georgian authorities is to provide the neutrality
of the geopolitical partners of Georgia in final destruction of
the public-political structures of the Armenians of Javakhk and to
silence them.
What do you think, Mr. Artsruni, what must be done in this case?
– As we told before, not the official Armenia but the Armenian NGOs
and the Armenian Diaspora should return an answer to it. Javakhk
issue is an all-Armenian issue, and like the issue of recognition of
the Armenian Genocide, the whole nation and the Republic of Armenia
can pursue different strategic directions in it.
There are precise international mechanisms for protection of the rights
of the Armenians of Georgia and Javakhk as ethnic minorities. And
the Georgian authorities cannot leave them out of account in case of
corresponding pressure of the Armenian and Diasporan NGOs.
Besides, since the summer of 2008, an atmosphere of fear and
disappointment has been created in Javakhk because of series of
arrests, terrors, court procedures and other arranged and planned acts
carried out by the Georgian state structures. The court procedures of
the leader of the United Javakhk Democratic Alliance Vahagn Chakhalian
and other Armenian political activists of Javakhk took place and go
on with disgraceful infringements of the law.
In case of systematized and consistent presentation of the
above-mentioned facts to the corresponding international offices, we
will succeed in binding the Georgian authorities to stop this process
of silencing the Armenians of Georgia and taking into consideration
the rights of the Armenian minority.
Taking the opportunity, we again and again call on all the Armenians
and especially the Armenian Diaspora not to be disorientated and
to demand from Georgia by all lawful means to solve all the issues
raised by the Armenians of Javakhk and Georgia.