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Georgian Border Guards Prohibit Djiliza Res. from Visiting Khorakert

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  • Georgian Border Guards Prohibit Djiliza Res. from Visiting Khorakert

    Georgian Border Guards Prohibit Djiliza Residents from Visiting Khorakert
    Monastery

    Larisa Paremuzyan
    HETQ
    14:19, August 13, 2011

    For the past three years, Armenians haven't been allowed to visit the 13th
    century Khorakert Monastery in neighboring Georgia. The border checkpoint
    between the two nations remains closed.

    Khorakert lies some 6 km southwest of the village of Djiliza, situated in
    the northern Lori Marz of Armenia. When the borders were revised, the
    monastery found itself just a stone's throw on the other side of the border
    in Georgia. He border issue itself remains a sore point and open to debate.

    "I say what's on my mind. You have to call the tiny population living in
    Djiliza heroes. We are totally cut off and neglected. It's not a question of
    making a living. It's a question of higher values," says Sousanna Tzatinyan,
    who teaches Armenian language and literature at the village school.

    She's talking about a matter that is directly related to the border crossing
    and the fact that villagers can't get to the monastery now in Georgia.

    Village Mayor Mher Vardanyan says Armenia is ready to open its portion of
    the checkpoint and that Georgia is holding things up.

    He says the Georgians want to erect a barrier that will halt any ties
    between Armenians in Djiliza and their relatives across the border in the
    villages of Chanakhchi, Khozhorni, Opreti, Aghkyorpi, Tzob and others.

    Because the local border crossing is closed, Armenians from Djiliza have to
    make the 100 km trip down to Alaverdi and then back up to Bagratashen in
    order to cross the border.

    If the border crossing were open, residents of Djiliza could cross the
    border in a matter of minutes.

    Georgia and Armenia share a land border of 225 km of which the majority is
    delineated through a joint delimitation-demarcation process but which
    remains a work in progress.

    An inter-governmental delineation commission has been periodically working
    on the issue since 1996 but residents of Djiliza are in the dark as to the
    commission's findings.

    To date, Georgian border guards continue to prohibit them from visiting
    Khorakert Monastery.

    Mayor Vardanyan says that the local border is still under review.

    "We'll have to wait and see whether the monastery will wind up in Armenia or
    in Georgia"

    Sourik Tzatinyan is adamant that Khorakert belongs to Armenians and to the
    village of Djiliza specifically.

    "The Georgian authorities must return the monastery to the rightful owners.
    It was built by Armenians on Armenian land. There's nothing more to say."

    Mayor Vardanyan argues that tourism is the key to developing the village and
    refers to an organization in Greece called the "Friends of Karabakh and
    Armenia" that might assist in this regard.

    "We have all these monuments and churches, not to mention our beautiful
    scenery," boasts the mayor.

    Djiliza gets 2 million AMD in subsidies from the state government; the bulk
    of its overall 2.7 million annual budget.

    Hetq wrote to the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get the official
    position on the border issue.

    In its response, the ministry said that according to Soviet maps the
    Khorakert Monastery was located on Soviet Georgian territory but that today
    this stretch of border has yet to be agreed upon by the two sides.

    In fact, 65 km of the Armenian-Georgian border have yet to be officially
    delineated and agreed upon by Tbilisi and Yerevan.

    The ministry says that it's this very stretch of border that remains "up for
    grabs".

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