JAVAKHK ARMENIANS MEET WITH US EMBASSY OFFICIALS

A-Info Press
Monday March 30, 2009

AKHLKALAK (A-Info)–Officials from the US Embassy in Georgia,
who were visiting the region Thursday met with the director of the
A-Info News Agency Artak Gabrielyan who briefed the delegation on
issues concerning the Armenian community of Samtskh-Javakhketi and
discussed the community’s expectations from the Georgian authorities.

The delegation consisted of deputy advisor for the US Embassy
Kent Langdon, political desk staffers Joy Davis-Kischener and Mago
Chokoberidze and Daniel Renna, a political staffer at the US Embassy
in Armenia.

During the visit, the US delegation met with Akhalkalak regional
council members and discussed issues of concern to the region, as
well as issues related to Javakhk Armenians.

At a separate meeting with Gabrielyan and board members from the
Political Development Center, an NGO operating in Javakh, the two
sides further discussed issues of concern to the Armenian community
in Samtskhe-Javakhk and Kvemo-Kartili regions, where Armenians are
a predominant majority.

After making a brief presentation about the activities of A-Info,
Gabrielyan told the US delegation about the disparities in the public
education system in Javakhk as well as the numerous calls for fair
representation within local and regional governmental bodies.

Gabrielyan outlined that the community has appealed to the
federal authorities to declare Armenian an official language in
the region and as such further the educational opportunities of the
population. Gabrielyan also discussed the continuous appeals by the
community to create an Armenian-Georgian state university in the area.

Also discussed were the federal authorities’ refusal to clearly define
the role of the regional and local governments and the inclusion of
Armenian representatives in those bodies.

Gabrielyan expressed concern about a Georgian government plan to
resettle Meskheti Turks in the Samtskhe-Javakhk territory.

Anahit Jamgochyan, the Director of the Political Development Center,
told the US delegation that in an area where 97 percent of the
population in Armenian, a significant portion of issues such as
administration and judicial cases can be better resolved if Armenian
were recognized as an official language in the region.