On June 19, Georgian border guards stopped Shirak Torosyan, President of the “Javakhk Patriotic Union” and a RoA National Assembly deputy from entering the country from Armenia. Deputy Torosyan, along with “Hzor Hayrenik” party President Vardan Vardapetyan, former CIS advisor to the RoA prime minister, Stepan Margaryan and former RoA National Assembly deputy

Vahe Hovhannisyan, were to travel to Georgia to have a series of meetings with government officials, civil activists and the press where issues related to Javakhk and Armenian-Georgian relations were to be discussed.

The program had been coordinated by the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation. In particular, the foundation’s representative in Tbilisi had arranged matters with the Georgian deputy minister for reintegration, the advisor to the foreign minister, chief editor of the newspaper “Resonance”, and a number of political party leaders and civil activists. On June 19, between 8:00 and 9:00 pm, the other members of the delegation crossed over into Georgia at Sadakhlo without incident. Things were different for Shirak Torosyan. “Immediately after entering my data into the computer the border guards became agitated and told me to wait a bit and that something had to be checked out further. Five or ten minutes passed. They were phoning Tbilisi. I showed them my diplomatic passport, telling them I am a member of parliament in Armenia. All that doesn’t really matter since, as a citizen, I have the right to enter Georgia,” Mr. Torosyan told “Hetq”.

The call from Tbilisi – Don’t let him in After more than an hour had passed, the Georgian border guards received another call from their superiors in Tbilisi and told Mr. Torosyan that he couldn’t enter the country. The guards couldn’t explain why, just that this was the directive received from Tbilisi. Mr. Torosyan demanded that he be given a written notice spelling out the reasons behind his entry denial. No such document was ever provided. During his wait at the border, Mr. Torosyan got in touch with Hrach Silvanyan, Armenia’s ambassador in Tbilisi and explained the situation. Ambassador Silvanyan reported the incident to the Georgian foreign affairs and interior affairs ministries as well as the Armenian foreign ministry in Yerevan. Savarsh Kocharyan, the RoA Deputy Foreign Minister, spoke to his Georgian colleagues. All failed to get any clarification on the matter. As a sign of protest, the entire Armenian delegation returned, not being able to reach a diplomatic resolution of the problem. On the way back, an official at the Georgian Embassy in Armenia telephoned Mr. Torosyan and suggested that they turn back and try again; maybe this time they would be permitted to enter Georgia. “Naturally, we couldn’t return since there was no definite agreement. The Georgian ambassador was hedging, saying that there was a misunderstanding. However, there was no misunderstanding since after making us wait for over an hour the Georgian duty officer told us straight out that we weren’t allowed to enter the country,” Mr. Torosyan said. I will continue to struggle no matter what Mr. Torosyan believes that his public pronouncements and activities are the reasons why they denied him entry into Georgia. “If this is the reason, then they are grossly violated my right to freedom of speech. If I speak out in defense of the rights of the Javakhk Armenian community and, as a result criticize the policies of the Georgian authorities by urging them to implement the obligations they have assumed according to international norms, then they should know that I will continue to do so regardless. I will struggle on to ensure that the rights of national minorities in Georgia are upheld,” added Mr. Torosyan. The deputy told us that he also encountered a bit of trouble the last time he entered Georgia at the Ninotzminda border crossing. They told him that the computers were down but the deputy kicked up a bit of a fuss and was eventually allowed to enter Georgia. He is convinced, however, that the protest actions and public proclamations made this year have riled the Georgian authorities who have sent out word that he is person non-grata. “I’m not personally insulted by their treatment but it’s an affront to our government. Let’s not forget that I am a parliamentary deputy and a representative of the ruling political party faction,” Mr. Torosyan said. Mr. Torosyan reported that the RoA Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatched a letter of protest to Georgia. One of the reasons why Shirak Torosyan is so involved in the issues confronting the Armenian community in Georgia is that he was born in the village of Gandza in Javakhk, where many of his relatives still live.