Azg Daily, Armenia
March 25 2010
INTERVIEW WITH SEVAK ARTSRUNI, THE PRESIDENT OF "YERKIR" UNION OF
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR REPATRIATION AND SETTLEMENT
By Aghavni Haroutiunian, translated by L.H.
– Recently, Yerkir Union issued a press release informing that new
accusations are brought against Vahagn Chakhalyan connected with the
coming local government elections. What is the mentioned elections’
importance conditioned by?
– Local government elections are the main representational platform,
where and with the help of which the Armenians of Javakhk can make
their social-economical, language, educational-cultural and other
demands and pursue their solution.
Local bodies are also a natural platform of self-organization for a
territorial unit’s population, in this case, for Armenians.
The Georgian authorities, implementing a discriminative policy on the
Armenians of Javakhk, naturally, have always tried to assume full
control of the local bodies of Samtskhe-Javakhk-Tsalka region of
Armenian united population to liquidate the undesirable manifestations
of self-government of Javakhk Armenians; to annul the potential
breeding ground of fighting for human rights of Javakhk Armenians.
Moreover, the Armenians of Javakhk little by little realize that their
demands are not "separatism", but norms advocated by the international
conventions on protection of human and national minorities’ rights.
The Georgian authorities’ attempt to terrorize the Armenians of
Javakhk through Vahagn Chakhalyan’s scandalous trial ended with final
failure; a coordinator council of protection of human rights of
Javakhk Armenians was established; little by little RA authorities,
public-political circles, Armenian Diaspora and international
organizations display interest in the problems of Javakhk Armenians.
Arrests of Javakhk Armenian activists; well arranged persecutions; a
ban on Armenian figures’ entry into Georgia; misinforming of
international community and law enforcement offices; as well as other
actions of the Georgian authorities lost their effectiveness and were
devalued, when the Armenians of Javakhk didn’t yield and continued to
make their demands for protection of their language, Armenian
education, religion, essence, etc.
(to be continued)
Azg Daily, Armenia
March 26 2010
INTERVIEW WITH SEVAK ARTSRUNI, THE PRESIDENT OF "YERKIR" UNION OF
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR REPATRIATION AND SETTLEMENT
By Aghavni Haroutiunian, translated by L.H.
(continuation)
On May 30, 2010, Georgian authorities will do their utmost to hinder
the entrance of the protectors of Javakhk Armenians’ rights into the
local bodies. And the new accusations brought against Vahagn
Chakhalyan are one of those steps taken in that context. Threats have
been already made against other forces in Javakhk, including the
figures of the coordinator council of protection of Javakhk Armenians’
human rights; steps are being taken to hinder participation of
organizations and individuals defending Javakh Armenians’ interests in
the main elections. Recently, according to the new changes to the
electoral law of Georgia, the pressure groups are not allowed to put
up candidates, and only registered political parties will have the
right to participate in the elections. Taking into account the fact
that establishment of parties on ethnic and regional grounds is
prohibited in Georgia (that is, by the way, a flagrant violation of
international obligations assumed by that country), it will be
essentially hard for Javakhk Armenians’ rights defending forces to
participate in elections.
– Based on this logic, what is expected of May elections? How can
Armenians of Javakhk oppose to these steps taken by the Georgian
authorities?
– The pressure will gradually increase. I fear that the Georgian
security, defence and law enforcement agencies won’t stop at either
political persecutions or use of physical strength. Taking into
account all these, the Armenian side must be, as always, law-abiding;
conscious of its political and civil rights to make its demands
audible to the rest of Georgia’s population and international
community through its votes.
What about the probable pressure and illegal steps by the Georgian
authorities, in this case again it is necessary to act by the same
logic. Firstly, Javakhk Armenians should raise the alarm of illegal
actions, and note the names of those "figures" of Javakhk that will be
tools of the Georgian authorities.
Naturally, the coordinator council of protection of human rights of
Javakhk Armenians will oppose the illegal actions and provocations as
quickly as possible. We are confident that the Armenians of Javakhk
will vote for those individuals or political forces that will include
the Armenian population’s political, civil, language, educational,
cultural and religious problems in their election programs and pursue
their solution. And on the contrary, the Armenian population of
Javakhk will vote against those forces that in recent years, directed
by the Georgian law enforcement agencies, slurred over the problems of
Javakhk Armenians, disrupted, pursued and exploited them economically.
Nevertheless, even if the Georgian authorities succeed in giving their
submissive myrmidons elective privileges, we are sure, it will not
stop the struggle of Javakhk Armenians for their rights.
Whatever the Georgian authorities undertake, or in what stage of
elections they take fraudulent measures (creating obstacles to putting
up of candidates; pressures during pre-election campaign; mass
infringements in the election day ), one thing is irrevocable, the
Armenians of Javakhk are conscious of the imperative of the struggle
for their rights that is a precondition for their tomorrow’s
well-being.
The Armenians of Javakhk already distinguish the figures struggling
for their national rights from the myrmidons. In spite of everything,
the Armenians of Javakhk understand that Armenia and Diaspora are
their supporters. They understand that in Georgia and out of it their
claims are taken into consideration. An this fact is irrevocable.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
