The danger of arrests looms over the Armenian oppositionists in Javakh like the sword of Damocles, according to Shirak Torosyan, a member of the ruling Republican party faction in parliament and the president of the compatriots’ union Javakhk.

At a news conference on Tuesday, the politician said several Armenian activists in Georgia continue facing detentions and persecutions.

Torosyan noted that Vahagn Chakhalyan, a Georgian-Armenian activist who was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in 2009, yesterday summoned the courage to declare about the Georgian authorities’ political persecutions against Armenian oppositionists.

“This is a step aimed at restricting further the Javakhk-Armenians’ political rights and deepening the tension in the region. This practice of silencing political opponents is typical only to tyrannical and authoritarian regimes,” he said.

The Republican MP recalled that the persecutions against the national minorities in Georgia had been addressed by the country’s former prime minister, Georgy Zhvania. He recommended waiting for a statement by the council dealing with the protection of the Georgian-Armenians’ rights.

As for the new prime minister’s policy impact on Javakhk, Torosyan said that though Vano Merabishvili he is a strong personality, famed for his positive reforms, none of his steps ever addressed the problems of Javakhk. But he expressed hope that the new premier would demonstrate a political will and pay due attention to the situation of the Armenian populated region.