Georgian government does not undertake any steps towards integrating Armenians of Javakheti

PanARMENIAN.Net - There are no corresponding conditions for integrating the Armenian community in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and the Georgian government does not undertake any steps in this respect, head of the Armenian Studies Center of YSU (Yerevan State University) Haykazun Alvrtsyan stated to the PanARMENIAN.Net journalist. He said, in fact Armenians in Javakheti do not have any opportunities to find a job, since it compulsory to know the Georgian language. "But these are just stipulations. Armenians do know the Georgian language, it is being taught in schools. They clearly realize that without the Georgian language there is no way for them. The problem is in the policy of the Georgian government. For some reason politicians in Tbilisi think that Armenians of Javakheti want to separate from Georgia by all means, although there is no such intention there," H. Alvrtsyan underlined.



He also noted after the withdrawal of the Russian base in Akhalkalaki Armenians began to leave the region. "If earlier the base anyhow solved the social-economic problems of the region, nothing similar happens now. Judge yourself, there are only 20 000 Armenians left in Akhaltsikhe, 10 000 of which reside in nearby villages. A lot of Armenians who have Russian citizenship are leaving from Akhalkalaki. Turk-Meskhetians are replacing them. They are few yet, but next year there will be much more of them. However, we have a guarantee from the European Union that there will be no ethnic collisions in Javakheti," H. Alvrtsyan underscored.