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I WOULDN'T BE OUT OF JAIL IF NOT SAAKASHVILI'S WEAKENING POWER - ACTIVIST
12:42 ~U 14.06.13
Vahagn Chakhalyan, a former political prisoner from Georgia's
Armenian-populated region Javakhl, is hopeful that Mikheil
Saakashvili's weakening influence (especially, on the judiciary)
in the country will lead the Georgian court to pass a fair ruling in
the lawsuit which he has filed against the president.
Speaking to Tert.am, the activist said that the proceeding, which has
recently filed, is expected to hold not only the president but also the
ex-prime minister, Vano Merabishili, and the former governor of Javakhk
(Samtskhe-Javakheti), Goga Khachidze, liable for defamation and libel.
Chakhalyan said the response which he received later was negative. The
Prosecutor's Office rejected his claim, citing lack of evidence as
a justification.
Chakhalyan was detained in July, 2008. On April 7, 2009 a Georgian
court sentenced him to 10 years in prison over charges of public
order disruption, hooliganism and weapon holding.
The activist, who was freed on January 12 this year, said the
statements by the Georgian president and the above officials,
accusing him of collaboration with Russian intelligence services,
bear a libelous character.
In a statement released in April, Chakhalyan attributed his conviction
to the Georgian president's tough policies against ethnic minorities
in the country and the efforts to silence the Javakhk-Armenians'
voice of protest.
The activist said all the statements against him are good evidence
to be considered by the European Court of Human Rights.
Addressing Saakashvili's "anti-Armenian policies", Chakhalyan
said that Javakhk is now more than ever before overpopulated with
Meskhetian-Turks, Azerbaijanis and other ethnic Turks.
"More than 40,000 Turks have been now granted citizenship in Georgia
and Javakhk. While no single Turk could found in the Ninotsminda region
five or six years ago, [their presence] seems to be quite a common
thing today. And everything going on there prevented the Armenians
from purchasing lands, giving instead the Turks the green light. If,
about five years ago, only one region internally banned the land
sale land to an Armenian, the recent four or five years have seen
[no single Armenian] buy land in Javakkhk," he added.
But Chakhalyan refrained from giving any opinion on the Bidzina
Ivanishvili government, considering it too early to evaluate the
promises which the new premier had earlier given.
"But the suppression of the security system is no longer that strong
in Javakhk," he said, noting that people now feel freer and more
unrestrained than before.
Armenian News - Tert.am
12:42 ~U 14.06.13
Vahagn Chakhalyan, a former political prisoner from Georgia's
Armenian-populated region Javakhl, is hopeful that Mikheil
Saakashvili's weakening influence (especially, on the judiciary)
in the country will lead the Georgian court to pass a fair ruling in
the lawsuit which he has filed against the president.
Speaking to Tert.am, the activist said that the proceeding, which has
recently filed, is expected to hold not only the president but also the
ex-prime minister, Vano Merabishili, and the former governor of Javakhk
(Samtskhe-Javakheti), Goga Khachidze, liable for defamation and libel.
Chakhalyan said the response which he received later was negative. The
Prosecutor's Office rejected his claim, citing lack of evidence as
a justification.
Chakhalyan was detained in July, 2008. On April 7, 2009 a Georgian
court sentenced him to 10 years in prison over charges of public
order disruption, hooliganism and weapon holding.
The activist, who was freed on January 12 this year, said the
statements by the Georgian president and the above officials,
accusing him of collaboration with Russian intelligence services,
bear a libelous character.
In a statement released in April, Chakhalyan attributed his conviction
to the Georgian president's tough policies against ethnic minorities
in the country and the efforts to silence the Javakhk-Armenians'
voice of protest.
The activist said all the statements against him are good evidence
to be considered by the European Court of Human Rights.
Addressing Saakashvili's "anti-Armenian policies", Chakhalyan
said that Javakhk is now more than ever before overpopulated with
Meskhetian-Turks, Azerbaijanis and other ethnic Turks.
"More than 40,000 Turks have been now granted citizenship in Georgia
and Javakhk. While no single Turk could found in the Ninotsminda region
five or six years ago, [their presence] seems to be quite a common
thing today. And everything going on there prevented the Armenians
from purchasing lands, giving instead the Turks the green light. If,
about five years ago, only one region internally banned the land
sale land to an Armenian, the recent four or five years have seen
[no single Armenian] buy land in Javakkhk," he added.
But Chakhalyan refrained from giving any opinion on the Bidzina
Ivanishvili government, considering it too early to evaluate the
promises which the new premier had earlier given.
"But the suppression of the security system is no longer that strong
in Javakhk," he said, noting that people now feel freer and more
unrestrained than before.
Armenian News - Tert.am