May 20, 2008 - 20:01 AMT
Loss of Norashen to result in loss of Armenian community of Tbilisi
Georgian leadership's encroachment on another Armenian church, Norashen, once gain proved Tbilisi's hostility not only toward the Armenian state but also toward the Armenian nation and its ethno-cultural and religious monuments, an Armenian expert said.

"These moves record a long history, amid Armenian Apostolic Church's absolute inactivity and Armenian Catholicosate's neglect of the problems of Armenians in Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti," Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"During the 10-year confrontation, the AAC is ceding its positions within the Armenian society of Georgia, while the GOC is putting down roots among the Armenians in Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti and, furthermore, launched expansion over Lori," he said.

Loss of Norashen will inevitably result in loss of the Armenian community of Tbilisi, what will be followed by final degradation and de-ethnization of Samtskhe Javakheti. We are hopeful that His Holiness Garegin II will manifest as true Catholicos and will not leave the Tbilisian Armenians in this severe struggle. The more so because, it's the Catholicos who will be responsible for the loss of Norashen," Melik-Shahnazaryan said.