French National Assembly deputy Roland Blum raises problems
of Javakheti Armenians
26-04-2010 18:28:00 | | Politics
TBILISI, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. During
the visit that a delegation of French parliamentarians paid to
Tbilisi on April 13-16, the Deputy of the National Assembly of
France Roland Blum raised the problem of violated rights of the
Javakheti Armenians at his meetings with members of the Georgian
parliament and government. He said that the Georgian authorities
do not solve the problems of Javakheti Armenians in line with
European democratic standards on protection of ethnic
minorities, the press service of Yerkir union reported.
At the meetings Mr. Blum focused on the case of Javakheti
Armenian political figure Vahagn Chakhalian who was sentenced to
10 years' imprisonment on the charges trumped up by Georgian
authorities. According to R. Blum, in persecuting the Javakheti
Armenian activist, Georgia's authorities are guided by obviously
political motives. The Georgian officials rejected the arguments
of R. Blum and made an attempt to convince him that Vahagn
Chakhalian is an "ordinary hooligan" who now serves an "adequate"
sentence.
Presenting the results of the discussions on the problems
of Javakhk that he held during his trip to Georgia, R. Blum
assured the Yerkir union that he will continue his efforts on
defence of the rights of Javakheti Armenians, in particular he
will take steps to raise the issue of Vahagn Chakhalian at the
April 26-30 session of the PACE.