Javakhk benevolent organization, Mitq analytical center and Yerkir Union have issued a joint statement on occasion of Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze's visit to Yerevan.

The statement says that the ongoing arrests of Armenian activists in Javakhk, grave violations of human rights in the trial of Vahagn Chakhalyan and his family members, obstacles the Georgian checkpoint officers pose at the Armenian-Georgian border leads to drift of the population away from the region.

"The policy pursued by the Georgian authorities is nothing but demographic terrorism, which aims at assimilation of Georgian Armenians, neutralization of Armenian public organizations and establishment of full control over the region," it says.

"The Armenian leadership should urge Georgia:

-to put an end to repressions and criminal prosecution of Javakheti Armenians and to release Vahagn Chakhalyan, Grigor Minasyan, Sargis Hakobjanyan and Grisha Avagyan.
-to allow to use the Armenian language in public life and administrative bodies of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka regions
-to establish an Armenian-Georgian university in Akhalkalaki to prevent migration of young people
-to officially register the Armenian Apostolic Church and return appropriated Armenian churches.

Respect for the right of Armenians is the only way to maintain lasting and sustainable development of the Armenian-Georgian relations," the statement says.