21/03/2013 14:12
Turkey and Azerbaijan lobby for return of Meskhet-Turks
“Under Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Javakheti Armenians have begun to enjoy full rights as Georgian citizens. It is necessary to continue solving socioeconomic, language and other problems facing Armenians of Javakhk,” the deputy of HHK parliamentary faction, Chairman of Javakhk Union Shirak Torosian said at the meeting with reporters today. He discussed the problems of Javakheti Armenians and the return of Meskhet-Turks to Javakhk.
In his words, there is no separatism in Javakhk, the local Armenians simply want their problems to be dealt with.
As regards the return of Meskhet-Turks, Torosian said that in 1944 Meskhet-Turks were deported from Meskhetia and not from Javakhk, and there were only a few Muslim villages in Javakhk.
According to him, Turkey and Azerbaijan are actively lobbying for the return of Meskhet-Turks, while Georgia had to assume the obligations to ensure their return as settling Meskhet-Turks on the border with Turkey would not be in the interest of Tbilisi.
Torosian said the return of Meskhet-Turks is aimed at changing the ethnic-religious picture in Javakhk, it is an attempt to weaken the Armenian factor in the whole region.