People in Javakhk believe escalation of situation in their settlement instigated by Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railroad construction
YEREVAN, July 30. /ARKA/. Armenians of Javakhk, a Georgian settlement with Armenian population, believe that the recent aggravation of the situation in their settlement is connected with the construction of Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railroad, political scientist Sergey Minasyan, the Director of the Caucasus Institute, said.
The railway will run across the territory of Javakhk. A series of incidents occurred in Javakhk on July 17, a week before the official start of the construction was announced.
A blast near the house of the Akhalkalaki police chief was followed by the intrusion of Georgian special squad soldiers who then searched the houses of the members of the Armenian “Unified Javakhk” organizations.
During the unwarranted search policeman Artur Berujanyan, a 23-year-old resident of the village of Baralet, was killed in unknown circumstances. Many members of the organization were arrested.
Another policeman, Armen Gabrielyan, was killed on July 20. The local police said it was a suicide, though some sources say it was not. “Many Armenians living in Javakhk believe that it was a preventive campaign by the Georgian authorities on the threshold of the construction commencement,” the expert told reporters.
According to Minasyan, people in Javakhk believe that the Georgian government acted this way for fear of a possible protest by Armenians, so they decided to neutralize the most active Armenian force – Unified Javakhk.
On July 21 night, the special squad soldiers and local police forces broke into the house of Vahagn Chakhalyan, the leader of the Armenian organization, to arrest him and his family members. They were taken to Akhaltsikha, later to Tbilisi. Another member of the organization, Aram Batoyan, is behind bars now.
However, as Minasyan said, further developments were a surprise for Georgian authorities who were not expecting such an escalation of the situation and such a wide response by Armenia. N.H. —0--
