Initiated by the Council of Armenian Community of Abkhazia, President Sergey Bagapsh met with Council Co-Chairs Marietta Topchyan, Galust Trapizonyan, Khachik Minosyan; community Sukhumi section representative Suren Kereselyan, community members Yervant Mikosyan and Vagharshak Kesyan. Parliament Speaker of the self-proclaimed Republic Nugzar Ashuba, PM Aleksandr Ankvab, Security Council Secretary Stanislav Lakoba, State Security Service Chair Yuri Ashuba, Interior Minister Otar Khetsia participated in the meeting. Community representatives said they were concerned over “some negative facts regarding the Armenian population of the Republic. This refers to anti-Armenian leaflets, as well as an attempt of sabotage at a Sukhumi Armenian secondary school.”
Addressing the President Ms. Topchyan remarked such facts occurred before as well. In her words, “the community is not inclined to dramatize the situation, but the Diaspora would like to know the stand of the authorities over the matter.” In Bagapsh’s words, legal proceedings are instituted in all cases and investigation is under way.” “The Armenian community has suffered all hardships of the past war equal to Abkhazians and other communities and now we build a free democratic state together,” Sergey Bagapsh stated. He noted the need to “complete complex measures on rehabilitation of villages where Armenians compactly live.”
In the PM Ankvab’s words, “if there are problems, these should be solved jointly, in interaction of state structures and NGOs. Reproaching the Government for idleness is unfair, when it is engaged in solving social issues, rehabilitation of education institutions in Armenian villages.” Ankvab agreed that many issues are not solved, thus the Government proposes solving these jointly with the Diaspora. At the end of the meeting S. Bagapsh told its participants about his intention to create a Public Chamber at the Abkhaz President. “The goal of the Chamber is to find mutually acceptable and useful solutions to all problems,” he said, reported Novosti Gruzia.
