Anna Nazaryan
“Radiolur”
A few days ago Javakhk Armenians staged a protest at the Armenian-Georgian border, complaining of the decision of RA Customs Service to levy brokerage commission for the provision of customs declarations filled in by Georgian citizens at Bavra checkpoint.
The decision has not taken account of the fact that it’s mostly Javakh Armenians crossing the border from Bavra. Therefore, they have to pay money to enter the Motherland.
Head of the Center of Western Armenian Studies Haykazun Alvrtsyan is confident this decision will alienate the Armenians of Javakhk.
This is not the only decision that creates difficulties for Javakhk Armenians, as a result of which the population of the region has decreased 40% in the past 20 years. “This is a result of lack of policy on Georgia,” Alvrtsyan said
Analyzing the events in Turkey, the Head of the Center of Western Armenian Studies noted that Prime Minister Erdogan’s statements further deepened the gap between the protesters and the Prime Minister.
According to him, President Abdullah Gul is more acceptable today than Erdogan. He does not share the opinion that the developments in Turkey might turn against the ethnic minorities.
Alvrtsyan said Armenians will benefit if the authorities remain in power. Otherwise, the power will pass to the nationalists, which does not meet our interests.
