VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN: SAAKASHVILI’S ACCUSATIONS IS A RESULT OF FAILURE OF ALL HIS POLITICAL INITIATIVES
ARMINFO
Monday, March 25, 15:38
Javahkh activist Vahagn Chakhalyan reflected on the statements which
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has recently made against him.
“The slanderous accusations, which Saakashvili is making against me
after my release from prison, come to prove yet again that I was
imprisoned for solely political considerations, for the fact that
I pacifically and lawfully fought for the protection of the rights
of the Armenian population of Georgia. Saakashvili is attempting to
cover up the simple fact that his political course has failed.
My release was a manifestation of goodwill by the new Georgian
authorities but, also, it was greatly due to the continuous calls
by the population of Javakhk and the pressure by the international
public opinion.
To recall, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who spoke on
the air of Imedi television, also had reflected on the release of
Georgian-Armenian activist Vahagn Chakhalyan. “Chakhalyan should not
have been released from prison. He destroyed the Georgian university
and the Georgian diocese. He would have left prison in six years,” the
Georgian president said He also had depicted what would have happened
in those six years. During this period Javakhk would have become one
of the key railway hubs of Europe, the standard of living would have
increased 2-3 times, and, “the absolute majority of the population
of Javakhk would have spoken Georgian,” Mikheil Saakashvili said,
and asked: “If Chakhalyan was a common criminal, what was he doing
in the parliament yesterday?”.
Chakhalyan was arrested on 21 July 2008 and accused for illegal
acquisition and keeping of weapon, as well as for organizing
mass disorders. On 7 April 2009 he was sentenced to 10 years of
imprisonment. Chakhalyan was released on 24 January 2013 within the
frames of amnesty in Georgia.