GEORGIA EXPANDS TERRITORY AT ARMENIA’S EXPENSE

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Aug 26 2009
Armenia

13:44 / 08/26/2009Georgian authorities decided to extend territories
at the expense of Shirak region, Armenia, while Georgian frontier
guards now and then occupy Armenian territories.

Georgian border guards push as far as for dozen meters to Armenian
land on Armenian -Georgian border (Shirak region sector), Aravot
daily reports. Though the locals have title deeds and plots, however
Georgian frontier guards ignore these documents, asserting that not
yet specified sectors of Armenian-Georgian border should be obtained
in Georgia’s interests. The issue is extremely topical in Bavra
village. Koryun Sumbulyan, village community head informed the daily
that locals cannot enter their territories of 3 km and 408 meters.

Demarcation commission on Armenian-Georgian border at RA Foreign
Ministry did not give the definite answer to Sumbulyan. He was advised
to dispose the land as he finds it expedient in the RA Ministry of
Territorial Administration. However Georgian frontier guards keep on
imposing obstacles while Armenian ones are silent.

Georgian side claimed of the allegedly existing treaty dated 1947,
under which the mentioned territories belong to Georgia. As far as
villagers unavailingly try to protect their property rights, the
issue overgrew into a serious intergovernmental problem. According
to some political analysts, Armenian-Georgian relations are tensed,
being unsettled within first 20 years of the contemporary history.

NEWS.am delegated a reporter to investigate the situation in the spot.