YEREVAN. – The present-day challenges of Georgian Armenians were raised during a conference which Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili organized Tuesday in the Georgian capital city Tbilisi, political scientist, Georgian Studies specialist Johnny Melikyan stated during a press conference on Friday.  

According to him, the event brought together representatives from Georgia’s Armenian, Azerbaijani, and other national minorities. In addition, each community presented its most pressing issues. 

“By and large, they referred to the education system [in Georgia]. Following the education reforms between 2005 and 2007, the schools passed on to the voucher[-based] system: the more schoolchildren, that much more funding,” the analyst noted. At the same time, however, he stressed that this system does not work in the case of national minorities.

“Less learners, less financial problems,” he added.    

The Georgian Studies specialist informed that the conference discussants also raised several agricultural matters.

“Some of the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis living in Georgia are engaged in agriculture, but they come across technical problems in these activities,” he noted. 

As per Melikyan, Primate of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and former political prisoner Vahagn Chakhalyan likewise attended the conference.

“In his address, the [Georgian] PM criticized the former regime, and noted that they had scared them with Chakhalyan on numerous occasions, but ‘he is here [at the conference hall] and he poses no threat,’ [Ivanishvili said],” Johnny Melikyan concluded.