Javakhk Armenians have been faced with pressure ever since Robert Kocharyan announced that they must learn Georgian during his talks with Mikhail Sahakashvili in Tsakhkadzor in 2007, said Armenian activists of Javakhk, Norik Karapetyan.
"You can't imagine the situation in Javakhk. You have to come and see it for yourself. At the time, when Vardan Oskanyan came to Javakhk, the people wanted to strangle him. We don't need Armenia's help," he said.
A number of Javakhk Armenian activists discussed the lack of the issue of Javakhk on Armenia's foreign policy agenda today.
Participants of the discussion organized by the "Javakhk Patriotic Union" touched upon the issue from different angles.
According to Director of the Institute of History at the RA National Academy of Sciences Ashot Melkonyan, the issue of Javakhk has moved from Georgian-Armenian relations and must be viewed within Georgia's relations with Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia.
"The Azeri and Turks feel great in Javakhk. Turkish Meskhetis announce that it is time for them to return to their "homeland", that is, Javakhk. It's interesting to know how the official Georgia views this," he said.
Ashot Melkonyan recalled the statement made by Vardan Oskanyan two years ago when he said that the Kars-Akhalkalak railway is not of concern. "The road of Pan-Turkism passes through Akhalkalak. If the railway is exploited, a passenger from Baku may reach Ankara and Istanbul with arms and ammunition."
Melkonyan finds that Georgian will let Meskhetsis settle in Javakhk under the sole condition that they accept Georgian last names.
Chairman of the People's Party Tigran Karapetyan was also present at the discussion. In his conversation with "A1+", he corroborated why the Armenian authorities don't have a developed strategy for Javakhk. "They are only thinking about the transfer of oligarchs' products and that is more important to them than the Armenians of Javakhk."
ARF representative Artsvik Minasyan says that the issue of Javakhk will be solved by the right of Javakhk Armenians to self-determination within Georgia. At the end of today's discussion, the participants issued a statement to support Javakhk Armenians to build their future on the native land.
