Protest rally in defense of Javakhk Armenians and Vahagn Chakhalyan to be held in Lyon

February 23, 2010 - 15:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
A protest rally will be held on March 3 in front of the Euronews headquarters in Lyon, France in defense of Armenians of Javakhk and political leader of Javakhk Vahagn Chakhalyan, The participants will protest against discriminatory policies of Georgian authorities towards Javakhk Armenians, violations of human rights by the Georgian authorities and the rights of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The rally is organized by ‘rance-Javakhk’organization.

Javahk political leader Vahagn Chakhalyan on 7 April 2009 as a result a shameful violation of justice by Akhaltskhe court of first instance was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. On 30 October 2009 Georgian Court of Appeals upheld the verdict intact. The case is currently is in the process of appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Javakhk

Javakhk is first mentioned under this very name in "Armenian History" by the V c. historian Movses Khorenatsy in regard to the administrative reforms realized by king Vagharshak. Regardless of the different interpretations of the list of the kings of the pre-Christian period, all the researchers agree that the aforementioned events date as far back as the II c. BC. In the IV c. BC Javakhk was the summer residence of the Georgian king Parnavaz, "In autumn and spring he lived in the city of Mtskhet , in summer in Javakhet and in winter in Ganchenk". About 185 BC, Artashes I annexed the province to Metz Hayk Kingdom , while in 37 AD it became part of Georgia .

In the IV c. AD Javakhk is mentioned in the description of St. Nune's journey to Mtskhet,"... and in June I came to Mount Javakhet, and to the Parnava Sea, and when I came there I saw fishermen by the sea and shepherds on the seashore...". When Armenia was first divided between Byzantium and Sassanid Persia, Javakhk was annexed to the Georgian Province headed by the Marzpan (the governor) of the province, along with the other provinces of Gugark Region.

The Armenian-Georgian war for Javakhk started on December 5, 1918 and was stopped after British interference on December 31. An agreement signed in Tiflis in January 1919 stated that the northern part of Borchalinsky district passed on to Georgia, the southern part passed on to Armenia while the middle (Lori and Zangezur) was announced a "neutral zone" and was under control of British governor-general.

In 1921 Turkish troops intruded into Javakhk, meeting no resistance from the Georgian army. As result, half of the region's population died.

After establishment of the soviet rule in Georgia, Javakhk issue was raised again. Overwhelming majority of the province stood for joining Armenia. A final decision was taken at the plenary session of the Caucasus Bureau and was forwarded to consideration of the Georgian Communist Party's Central Committee, which decreed that "taking into account Akhalkalaki's political and economic ties with Tiflis, the proposals of our Armenian comrades is unacceptable."