What is Javakhk?

Here is a comprehensive factsheet as presented by the Armenien Relief Society Eastern United States (http://www.arseastus.com/Javakhk/JavakhkIndex.htm)

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. 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.

The volunteers of the Karabakh war write to Saakashvili (in Russian) and in German