Armenian teachers banned from schools: Georgian authorities commit 'white genocide' towards Armenians, says Torosyan

Recently the Georgia-owned Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti witnessed such things which testify to the fact that the Georgian authorities have surpassed all the boundaries, Head of Javakhq patriotic union Shirak Torosyan told a press conference today.

Torosyan said that the new timetable presented to the schools before the beginning of the new school year has revealed that the number of hours of Armenian language has seriously been decreased. In high schools, according to the new syllabus, the classes of Armenian language have been cut off for 5 times if compared to the Soviet era, and for 2 two times compared to the post-Soviet era.

In this way the Armenian language will in high schools be taught only twice a week.

"This is a new policy of depopulating Armenians or it is a white genocide," said Torosyan, adding that with that decision the Georgian authorities pursue a policy of cutting the Armenians from their roots.

"Can you imagine that the Armenian children will go to Armenian schools but the least hours will be allotted to the Armenian language?" said he.

Another 'dirty step' Georgian authorities have taken, according to Torosyan, is that the principals of the schools in Samtskhe-Javakheti have been provided with a list of Armenian teachers including mainly those who teach Armenian language and History of Armenia.

In his words the latter have been laid off without any proper explanation. But the worst thing is that they have been banned from teaching neither in any school in Samtskhe-Javakheti nor in Georgia in general.

"This is a step by the Georgian authorities which appears to be aimed at distorting the Armenian national identity or at creating an atmosphere of fear and horror for all the other remaining Armenians with the Armenian identity who will attempt present themselves with Armenian identity. I can assure you that today there is such a system in Javakhq which is more horrendous than that introduced during [the rule of] Beria and Stalin in the 40-50s in the last century."