GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES AND JAVAKHETI ARMENIANS SHOULD START TALKS

PanArmenian
April 15 2009
Armenia

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yerkir Union calls on Armenian Diaspora and
international community to combine efforts to protect rights of the
Armenian population of Samtskhe Javakheti, Georgia, and demand release
of United Javakhk democratic alliance leader Vahagn Chakhalyan.

"We held a number of meetings in European countries and submitted
a report to the Council of Europe," Yerkir chairman Sevak Artsruni
told a news conference in Yerevan.

"The problem of Armenian population of Javakheti is Georgia’s domestic
affair and can’t be viewed in the context of Armenian-Georgian
relations," he said. "We regret that some political forces in Armenia
are trying to present it as a foreign policy issue."

"We call on the Georgia authorities to respects national minorities’
rights and open talks with representatives of the Armenian population
of Samtskhe Javakheti," he said.