Students from various higher educational institutions in Yerevan organized a protest demo in Republic Square demanding the Georgian authorities and the Georgian church to designate legal status to the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese in Georgia, to return Armenian churches, and to respect and protect the cultural values of the Armenian people.

From Republic Square, the students, along with some members of the clergy, marched to the Georgian Embassy in Armenia. Three youth submitted a letter to the Georgian ambassador that was addressed to the Georgian governing leadership and the Georgian Orthodox Church.

The letter, in part, stated:

“We, the participants of this protest, children of the Armenian Apostolic Church, members of different organizations raise our voices in protest of the destruction of St. Gevorg Church of Mughnetsi, constructed in Tbilisi in 1356.”

There is also concern noted in the letter that the efforts of the Armenian side didn’t lead to results, and the designation of legal status to the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese in Georgia and the return of historic Armenian churches in Tbilisi to the Diocese didn’t get resolved through dialogue and mutual agreement.

While some of the students were submitting their letter, the youth carrying flags and posters in front of the Georgian Embassy were chanting “No White Genocide,” “We demand,” and so on.

During the demonstration, numerous police officers were making sure order was maintained. They didn’t hinder the youth rally.

Coming out of the embassy, the youth told demo participants that the ambassador promised to pass the letter on to Georgia’s governing authorities personally.

The students also stated they will be sending a similar letter to the United Nations.