US embassy in Georgia 'distorts' reality about Javakhk Armenians' fight for their rights, says NGO

Yerkir Union, an Armenia-based union of non-governmental organizations, has issued a statement over a WikiLeaks document referring to the problems of the Armenians living in the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti.

It also says that the US embassy in Georgia is "either absolutely unaware of the real facts or intentionally distorts them".

"One of the reports by the US embassy in Georgia published by the WikiLeaks website refers to the 2006 March demonstrations that took place in Akhalkalaki. Particularly, it mentioned that they were allegedly incited by Russians. As a "proof", it pointed to the fact that later, as if after the Russian military base had withdrawn from Akhalkalaki, the demonstrations of Javakhk Armenians stopped.

"Yerkir Union declares that the above-mentioned claims have nothing to do with the reality and simply testify to the fact that the US embassy in Georgia is either absolutely unaware of the real facts or intentionally distorts them. The real reason of the suspension of the active demonstrations of Javakhk Armenians are the coordinated persecutions of Javakheti Armenians and the establishement of the police regime in Armenian–populated regions by the Georgian law-enforcement bodies since 2006-2008," reads the statement.

Further, it says that the Council coordinating the protection of Javakhk Armenians' rights, to which Yerkir Union is a party, has through several statements, letters and personal meetings tried to draw the attention of the US embassy in Georgia to the "discriminatory policy the Georgian authorities have carried out with regard to Javakhk Armenians – yet to no avail."

It also says that the indifference of the US embassy in Georgia to the "discriminatory policy against ethnic Armenians and the brazen violations of their rights," boils down to the fact that The US embassy in Georgia has undertaken the task of "concealing the discriminatory policy by [Mikheil] Saakashvili against national minorities" and "preserving the false image of Georgia as a democratic country."

"This irresponsible working style of the US embassy in Georgia cannot but have an impact on the bodies, implementing the US foreign policy, which make decisions based on unreliable data taken from reports that distort the reality. This behavior of the US embassy [in Georgia] empowers the Georgian authorities to continue their discriminatory policy on Javakheti Armenians which adds discontent and tension in Georgia's Armenian-populated regions," reads the statement.