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WHAT OF THE RIGHTS OF JAVAKHK-ARMENIANS?
by Varant Meguerditchian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/09/27/what-of-the-rights-of-javakhk-armenians/
September 27, 2012
While we are well aware that the UN Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is the international law under
which we seek justice for the Armenian Genocide, and we know that
the right to self-determination of Karabagh-Armenians is protected
under Article VIII of the Helsinki Final Act, what of the rights of
Javakhk Armenians?
An Armenian school in Javakhk As a member of the Council of Europe,
Georgia signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities (FCNM) in 2005, which states that a "genuinely democratic
society should not only respect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and
religious identity of each person belonging to a national minority,
but also create appropriate conditions enabling them to express,
preserve, and develop this identity." Yet, Georgia fails to respect
the letter and spirit of the rights afforded to the Javakhk-Armenians
under this charter.
During a recent visit to the historic Armenian region lying north of
the present-day Armenian Republic, I lay witness to the religious
and cultural discrimination against which the Armenians of Javakhk
struggle on a daily basis.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is denied the right to register as a
religious entity and instead operates as an NGO. The Georgian Orthodox
Church is elevated above all other religious institutions including
the Armenian Apostolic Church. Georgian authorities continue to
appropriate ancient Armenian churches in Javakhk. Armenian parishioners
are prevented from visiting these Armenian churches and other places
of religious and historic significance.
The policy of discrimination against Javakhk-Armenians is further
perpetuated by Georgian limitations on the use of the Armenian
language in schools, the conversion of Armenian schools in Javakhk
into Georgian state schools, and the dismissal of Armenian teachers
who have protested against the discrimination. Armenian students in
Javakhk receive less face-to-face Armenian instruction today than
they did during the Soviet era.
The St. Mesrop Mashtots statue Akhalkalak, one of the few remaining
Armenian symbols of Javakhk.
These policies subject the Armenians in Javakhk to religious and
cultural discrimination in direct breach of Article V of the FCNM,
which states: "The Parties undertake to promote the conditions
necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain
and develop their culture, and preserve the essential elements of
their identity, namely their religion, language, traditions, and
cultural heritage."
They are also in violation of Article XIV of the FCNM, which makes
direct reference to the right to education of Javakhk-Armenians:
"In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities
traditionally or in substantial numbers, if there is sufficient demand,
the Parties shall endeavour to ensure, as far as possible and within
the framework of their education systems, that persons belonging to
those minorities have adequate opportunities for being taught the
minority language or for receiving instruction in this language."
It should be noted that the Georgian government's denial of the
rights of Armenians in Javakhk additionally defies a multitude of
international laws and conventions, many of which have been signed
by Georgia and not adhered to, and others simply not signed at all.
Thus far, Georgia has failed to sign and ratify the Council of Europe
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).
Designed to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
national minorities, ECRML affords national minorities the right to
use their language beyond the educational system. In Javakhk, this
translates into the right to use Armenian in Javakhk public life.
Given Tbilisi's disregard for the basic rights of Javakhk-Armenians,
it is no wonder that outspoken Armenian community leaders have been
persecuted by the Georgian authorities. Also, the few appeals made
by both the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church
for an improvement of the religious and linguistic rights of Javakhk
Armenians have been dismissed.
While the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church
must defend the rights of Javakhk-Armenians with greater vigour, the
Armenian Diaspora also has an immediate political duty towards Javakhk.
We must more actively voice our concerns regarding the rights of
Javakhk-Armenians to those individuals who represent us in legislative
bodies throughout the world. The positions of elected officials on
the rights afforded to Javakhk-Armenians under various international
agreements should play a role in our decisions to support them, just
as their positions on the issues of Nagorno-Karabagh and the Armenian
Genocide already do.
From: A. Papazian
by Varant Meguerditchian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/09/27/what-of-the-rights-of-javakhk-armenians/
September 27, 2012
While we are well aware that the UN Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is the international law under
which we seek justice for the Armenian Genocide, and we know that
the right to self-determination of Karabagh-Armenians is protected
under Article VIII of the Helsinki Final Act, what of the rights of
Javakhk Armenians?
An Armenian school in Javakhk As a member of the Council of Europe,
Georgia signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities (FCNM) in 2005, which states that a "genuinely democratic
society should not only respect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and
religious identity of each person belonging to a national minority,
but also create appropriate conditions enabling them to express,
preserve, and develop this identity." Yet, Georgia fails to respect
the letter and spirit of the rights afforded to the Javakhk-Armenians
under this charter.
During a recent visit to the historic Armenian region lying north of
the present-day Armenian Republic, I lay witness to the religious
and cultural discrimination against which the Armenians of Javakhk
struggle on a daily basis.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is denied the right to register as a
religious entity and instead operates as an NGO. The Georgian Orthodox
Church is elevated above all other religious institutions including
the Armenian Apostolic Church. Georgian authorities continue to
appropriate ancient Armenian churches in Javakhk. Armenian parishioners
are prevented from visiting these Armenian churches and other places
of religious and historic significance.
The policy of discrimination against Javakhk-Armenians is further
perpetuated by Georgian limitations on the use of the Armenian
language in schools, the conversion of Armenian schools in Javakhk
into Georgian state schools, and the dismissal of Armenian teachers
who have protested against the discrimination. Armenian students in
Javakhk receive less face-to-face Armenian instruction today than
they did during the Soviet era.
The St. Mesrop Mashtots statue Akhalkalak, one of the few remaining
Armenian symbols of Javakhk.
These policies subject the Armenians in Javakhk to religious and
cultural discrimination in direct breach of Article V of the FCNM,
which states: "The Parties undertake to promote the conditions
necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain
and develop their culture, and preserve the essential elements of
their identity, namely their religion, language, traditions, and
cultural heritage."
They are also in violation of Article XIV of the FCNM, which makes
direct reference to the right to education of Javakhk-Armenians:
"In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities
traditionally or in substantial numbers, if there is sufficient demand,
the Parties shall endeavour to ensure, as far as possible and within
the framework of their education systems, that persons belonging to
those minorities have adequate opportunities for being taught the
minority language or for receiving instruction in this language."
It should be noted that the Georgian government's denial of the
rights of Armenians in Javakhk additionally defies a multitude of
international laws and conventions, many of which have been signed
by Georgia and not adhered to, and others simply not signed at all.
Thus far, Georgia has failed to sign and ratify the Council of Europe
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML).
Designed to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
national minorities, ECRML affords national minorities the right to
use their language beyond the educational system. In Javakhk, this
translates into the right to use Armenian in Javakhk public life.
Given Tbilisi's disregard for the basic rights of Javakhk-Armenians,
it is no wonder that outspoken Armenian community leaders have been
persecuted by the Georgian authorities. Also, the few appeals made
by both the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church
for an improvement of the religious and linguistic rights of Javakhk
Armenians have been dismissed.
While the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church
must defend the rights of Javakhk-Armenians with greater vigour, the
Armenian Diaspora also has an immediate political duty towards Javakhk.
We must more actively voice our concerns regarding the rights of
Javakhk-Armenians to those individuals who represent us in legislative
bodies throughout the world. The positions of elected officials on
the rights afforded to Javakhk-Armenians under various international
agreements should play a role in our decisions to support them, just
as their positions on the issues of Nagorno-Karabagh and the Armenian
Genocide already do.
From: A. Papazian