Georgian Armenians appeal to Council of Europe over “violation” of rights
Arminfo, Yerevan
19 Mar 04
AKHALKALAKI
The political and socioeconomic crisis in Georgia is a result of
problems that have not been resolved for many years, A-Info news
agency has quoted representatives of the public organizations of
Samtskhe-Javakheti as saying in a message to Council of Europe
Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer.
The representatives of the public organizations point out that at
present, human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities are being
violated in Georgia and the country’s commitments to the Council of
Europe are, in fact, not being fulfilled. The state is not following
the principle of self-government established by the constitution,
which has a negative impact on the development of the country’s
regions.
In this connection, such a situation is particularly topical in
Samtskhe-Javakheti, the message said. The current
administrative-territorial structure and governing policy do not take
into account the peculiarities of the region and do not meet the
people’s needs. In fact, Samtskhe-Javakheti has been pushed out of the
process of governing the country, the letter says.
Programmes on the socioeconomic development of the region, which would
meet the interests of the population, are not being implemented in the
region and the population’s poverty is approaching a threatening
scale.
The authors of the message believe that in order to extricate the
region from the crisis, it is necessary to delineate the
administrative borders of the region and endorse its autonomous status
in the country’s constitution. The representatives of the public
organizations also expressed a desire to discuss regional issues with
Walter Schwimmer.