PROTECTION OF ARMENIAN CHURCHES IN GEORGIA IS AN ALL-ARMENIAN PROBLEM, LEADER OF THE NATIONAL NEOCONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Feb 15, 2010
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The Georgian state and the Georgian
Orthodox Church are conducting such a policy with respect to the
Javakheti Armenians that will result in displacement of Armenians
from Javakhk. Edward Abramian, leader of the National Neoconservative
Movement, made this statement during the February 15 press conference.
He declared that Armenia must defend with might and main
Samtskhe-Javakheti and protect the interests of the local Armenians.
The Neoconservative Movement had applied to the Catholicos of Cilicia
Aram I and the head of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church regarding the problems of Javakheti Armenians and the Armenian
churches in Georgia. In the words of E. Abramian, the protection of
churches is not the problem of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
but it has an all-Armenian character.
The head of the Neoconservative Movement Edgar Helelian said that
there is a shortage of Armenian priests in Javakhk: there are only
5-6 priests in the areas populated by about 30 thousand Armenians.
According to him, in some villages Armenians have been re-baptized
to become Orthodox believers so that they could marry in church or
participate in divine services. E. Abramian added that another painful
problem is the ban on Armenian-language literature. He said that
Georgian frontier guards do not allow bringing Armenian-language books
and textbooks to Javakhk, saying that they act in accordance with an
internal instruction. "Forbidding people to read books in their native
language is a gross violation of human rights," E. Abramian said.