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VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN ARMENIA'S 'HRANT DINK' IN JAVAKHK - ACTIVIST
Tert.am
18.11.11
Armenian film director Tigran Khzmalyan, considers the jailed
Georgian-Armenian public figure, Vahagn Chakhalyan, Armenia's scapegoat
in Javakhk region.
At a news conference on Friday, he even compared the activist with
Hrant Dink, the assassinated editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish
weekly Agos.
"Hrant Dink's name was hardly ever mentioned in the past, but now
that he's no longer alive it's very easy to say he is our flag. Vahagn
Chakhalyan is now our Hrant Dink. Today we have a political prisoner in
Javakhk, who, despite being in detention, leads the Javakhk-Armenians
struggle, not allowing any insult to their national dignity," he
told reporters.
Khzmalyan, who is an active member of Sardarapat group, said the
Georgian authorities seek to represent Chakhalyan's arrest as a
national minority issue notwithstanding the fact that the Armenians
in Javakhk live on their historical land.
The Georgian authorities arrested Chakhalyan in 2008, accusing him
of resisting a representative of the authorities, acquiring and
maintaining weapons and plotting disorders. He was subsequently
sentenced to 10 years in prison and now serves his time in a tight
security penal colony.
"Several armed troops of the Georgian special services entered
Javakahk to arrest Chakhalyan. Yerevan's tacit response was evident,"
Khzmalyan added.
The activist said that the group had several times applied to the
Foreign Ministry but their proposals for a meeting had been declined.
Khzmalyan called for pan-national efforts for freeing the jailed
activist.
"It's not only the Javakhk-Armenians that have to deal with Vahagn
Chalhalyan's case; that's a pan-national issue. As a matter of fact,
Javakhk is our northern gate, our window of opportunities to the West.
It is not a cumbersome problem for the Armenian and Georgian
authorities," he added.
Tert.am
18.11.11
Armenian film director Tigran Khzmalyan, considers the jailed
Georgian-Armenian public figure, Vahagn Chakhalyan, Armenia's scapegoat
in Javakhk region.
At a news conference on Friday, he even compared the activist with
Hrant Dink, the assassinated editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish
weekly Agos.
"Hrant Dink's name was hardly ever mentioned in the past, but now
that he's no longer alive it's very easy to say he is our flag. Vahagn
Chakhalyan is now our Hrant Dink. Today we have a political prisoner in
Javakhk, who, despite being in detention, leads the Javakhk-Armenians
struggle, not allowing any insult to their national dignity," he
told reporters.
Khzmalyan, who is an active member of Sardarapat group, said the
Georgian authorities seek to represent Chakhalyan's arrest as a
national minority issue notwithstanding the fact that the Armenians
in Javakhk live on their historical land.
The Georgian authorities arrested Chakhalyan in 2008, accusing him
of resisting a representative of the authorities, acquiring and
maintaining weapons and plotting disorders. He was subsequently
sentenced to 10 years in prison and now serves his time in a tight
security penal colony.
"Several armed troops of the Georgian special services entered
Javakahk to arrest Chakhalyan. Yerevan's tacit response was evident,"
Khzmalyan added.
The activist said that the group had several times applied to the
Foreign Ministry but their proposals for a meeting had been declined.
Khzmalyan called for pan-national efforts for freeing the jailed
activist.
"It's not only the Javakhk-Armenians that have to deal with Vahagn
Chalhalyan's case; that's a pan-national issue. As a matter of fact,
Javakhk is our northern gate, our window of opportunities to the West.
It is not a cumbersome problem for the Armenian and Georgian
authorities," he added.