Incident in Tsalka Logical Outcome of Anti-Armenian Hysteria in Georgia

PanARMENIAN.Net - March 11 a news conference was held in the Office of People's Defender of Georgia owing to the incident on March 9, in which Gevorg Gevorgyan was killed, as well as other ethnic Armenian citizens of Georgia were wounded, the Armenian Center for Cooperation in Georgia told PanARMENIAN.Net According to official reports, Georgian law-enforcement bodies operatively detained 5 suspects. The incident aroused mass protest among Armenians in the region, which poured into disorders. Rally participants were dispersed by special forces. A group of representatives of People's Defender arrived in Tsalka on the next day. In the opinion of Georgian Ombudsman Sozar Subari, everyday reasons underlie the conflict.



President of the Armenian Center for Cooperation in Georgia Karen Elchyan also spoke at the news conference. He condoled with the family of the deceased, noting that two versions of motives of the crime are available at that moment. One of these is the crime committed on ethnic ground, which the aggrieved party sticks to. He remarked that Armenians' demand of autonomy for Samtskhe-Javakheti is quite legal and is based on federalism and state territorial integrity principles. He added the population of the region is sure that acquiring autonomy will assist full implementation of their civil rights and freedoms within Georgia's jurisdiction.



The Georgian Diocese of the Armenian apostolic Church has also expressed its stand over the occurrence. Aide of the Diocese leader Levon Isakhanyan supported the position, voiced by Elchyan, that there are two versions of motives of the crime. Crimes of the type are a logical consequence of the anti-Armenian hysteria in Georgia by means of the media, he added.