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Javakhk Armenians Call for Autonomy
AKHALKALAK, Gerogia (A-Info)--Armenian non-governmental organizations working in Georgia's Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartili regions issued a joint announcement calling for the formation of a federative Georgian republic, with great autonomies granted to its ethnic populated districts, including the Armenians of Javakhk.
Citing the end to the military operations and the efforts by the sides to the conflict and the international community to find solutions to addressing this problem, as well as the fact that resolving ethnic conflicts militarily only jeopardize the security of the population, the Armenian organizational collective issued a six-point announcement calling for autonomy for Javakhk Armenians. Below are the points:
In order to guarantee the country's stability and democratic development, and to re-establish Georgia's territorial integrity and statehood, as well as to resolve ethnic conflicts in a objective, just and legal manner, Georgia's government should become a federative state, with regional and federal government structures;
Under the federative system of government, the central authorities of Georgia will retain the powers provided under Article 3 Section of the Georgian Constitution [Eds: Article 3 mandates the government to oversee issues of national interest, including foreign policy, defense, national and social security and economy];
The basis for the creation of regional bodies should include the preservation and advancement of ethnic identity of groups comprising Georgia's population.
Provide Samtskhe-Javakheti--with its current boundaries--and the neighboring mainly Armenian-populated region of Kvemo-Kartali autonomy within a federate state of Georgia, ensuring it with broad self-governing rights, including the right to free elections to the population for local governing bodies,
Through constitutional amendments, guarantee that Armenian will be the official language of Samtskhe-Javakheti, in addition to the current official state language;
Guarantee the representation of Samtskhe-Javakheti in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government.
The Armenian organizational collective emphasized that this aforementioned proposal would be the best manner through which to emerge from the current crisis, adding that government of Georgia should, at the very least, listen to its peaceful population and provide them with the same opportunities that it is providing to those citizens who “raised their weapons against the government.”
The organizations said that the impetus for this announcement was, first and foremost, the interests of Georgia and Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is part and parcel of the country.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008