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A FACT SHEET ABOUT JAVAKHK Today,
Javakhk is the most underdeveloped and impoverished region of Georgia.
It has the highest rate of unemployment in the country and the
lowest rate of state investment. There
is no industry, and agriculture is primitive. The roads and
infrastructure in the region are non-existent and it is easier to reach
Armenia than Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Javakhk is a geographic,
economic and political island, almost cut off from the rest of the
world. The
historic Armenian regions of Akhalkalak and Akhaltska lie in the
southern part of Georgia, bordering Armenia and Turkey. Javakhk borders
Ajaria in the west and regions inhabited by ethnic Azeris lie to the
east. The
needs of the residents of Javakhk were ignored during Soviet times and
they continue to be ignored by independent Georgia. When the Georgian
government incorporated Javakhk with other regions and created a new
administrative region, Samtskhe-Javakheti, the Armenian population of
Javakhk was reduced to about 70 percent of the overall population. In
1994, the Georgian government abolished the regional government of
Javakhk. Authority over the area was placed in the hands of a governor
directly appointed by and answerable to the President of Georgia.
Although local government and authority lie in the hands of the Armenian
majority of Javakhk, the recently created regional governments of
Javakhk are dominated by Georgian officials who do not care about the
well being and future of this Armenian-dominated region and its Armenian
population. The
largest employer in the Javakhk region is the 62nd Divisional Russian
base in Akhalkalaki, where half of the 3,000 soldiers and officers are
local Javakhk Armenians. In
addition to being a major economic force in the region, the base also
gives much needed security to the region’s Armenians against Turkey. Javakhk
is strategically located. All proposed oil pipelines from Baku to
Georgia to the Black Sea or Mediterranean would pass through the region
of Javakhk. Javakhk’s strategic
placement has caused Turkey to lay certain claims to the region and it
has attempted to extend its political and military influence over
Georgia for this reason. Currently
the ARS is doing everything possible to help the people of Javakhk by
supplying them with humanitarian aid and support. The ARS is the sole
organization registered with the Georgian authorities to provide such
aid and assistance and is the only organization allowed to function in
Javakhk. Therefore, all
relief efforts for Javakhk must be conducted through the ARS. The
region’s Armenian population suffers from a lack of small business and
industry. As a result,
unemployment levels are high. The
region also lacks basic water and electrical services.
This unacceptable situation has created a climate of despair for
these proud people. ARS
regions and chapters around the world have been working hard to help
raise the basic living conditions of the Armenians of Javakhk since
2000. That work will
continue and the chapters of the ARS Eastern United States will
certainly be an important part of the ARS’s international efforts. |
COMMUNITY EVENTS TO SUPPORT JAVAKHK
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