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ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL TO PUT GEORGIA BETWEEN ROCK AND HARD PLACE
The Messenger
April 12 2012
Georgia
The Armenian Diaspora in Tbilisi has asked City Hall to erect a
memorial to their genocide at the hands of the Turks in the early 20th
century. Georgian officials have not yet responded to the demand, but
it is clear that if they build the monument it will cause a significant
amount of discontent among Georgia's neighbours, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The proposed memorial would be erected near Avlabari Metro station,
according to a general agreement reached with City Hall two years ago.
Chair of a multinational Georgia NGO, Arnold Stepanyan, supports the
idea of a monument in Tbilisi. Yet the Armenian Diaspora is courting
controversy. Advocates of the memorial know that such a move will
create problems for Georgia in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Erecting
a memorial means indirectly recognizing the genocide, which is a
political act. This could also cause discontent in the ethnic Azeri
population in Georgia, and could strain relations between them and
ethnic Armenians. This could needlessly aggravate the situation in
Georgia. Giorgi Gigauri from Asaval-Dasavali draws certain parallels,
wondering what would happen if Georgians demanded that Armenia
erect in Yerevan a memorial to the Georgians who suffered under the
Russian occupation. It would be a provocative move and one Armenia
could not yield to, as it would be targeted against its strategic
partner, Russia.
However, only recently the Georgian Parliament officially recognized
the genocide of the Cherkez people by Russia in the 19th century -
so there is a precedent that the government, whatever their decision,
will have to work around.
The Messenger
April 12 2012
Georgia
The Armenian Diaspora in Tbilisi has asked City Hall to erect a
memorial to their genocide at the hands of the Turks in the early 20th
century. Georgian officials have not yet responded to the demand, but
it is clear that if they build the monument it will cause a significant
amount of discontent among Georgia's neighbours, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The proposed memorial would be erected near Avlabari Metro station,
according to a general agreement reached with City Hall two years ago.
Chair of a multinational Georgia NGO, Arnold Stepanyan, supports the
idea of a monument in Tbilisi. Yet the Armenian Diaspora is courting
controversy. Advocates of the memorial know that such a move will
create problems for Georgia in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Erecting
a memorial means indirectly recognizing the genocide, which is a
political act. This could also cause discontent in the ethnic Azeri
population in Georgia, and could strain relations between them and
ethnic Armenians. This could needlessly aggravate the situation in
Georgia. Giorgi Gigauri from Asaval-Dasavali draws certain parallels,
wondering what would happen if Georgians demanded that Armenia
erect in Yerevan a memorial to the Georgians who suffered under the
Russian occupation. It would be a provocative move and one Armenia
could not yield to, as it would be targeted against its strategic
partner, Russia.
However, only recently the Georgian Parliament officially recognized
the genocide of the Cherkez people by Russia in the 19th century -
so there is a precedent that the government, whatever their decision,
will have to work around.