Armenian Population in Javakhk Fear Isolation
Click to viewArmenianNetwork - October 30, 2008 - 100,000 Armenians are living in the southern Georgian province, where jobs are scarce and poverty rates are high.
Many people worked at the Russian military base on the outskirts of town. The money they earned there fed their families. But when the Russians left a few years ago, their salaries went with them and the region became one of the poorest in Georgia. Because of the fear of prosecution, many Armenians in Javakh are afraid to speak their minds. Those brave enough to raise their voices in the past have felt the strong arm of the law.
Dr Sergey Minasyan from the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute explains why.
There were some young people who decided to fight against the situation. They didnt have enough political experience and money, but as young people they had enough spirit and guts to resist, he says.
Because they were so young and inexperienced, their activities finished how they finished: most of them have been arrested. This is why the political structure of this movement has been completely destroyed.
Jailing people is only adding to local feelings of resentment and concerns for the future.