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IS ARMED REBELLION BEING PLANNED IN JAVAKHETI?
by Tamta Virsaladze's
Rezonansi
July 31 2012
Georgia
Arnold Stepanyan: 'There are groups that are interested in straining
Georgian-Armenian relations'
Azerbaijani news portal Azglobus.net has predicted an armed
rebellion in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Zaal Kasrelishvili, chairman of the
Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus, has urged the Georgian
special services to check this information and has said that this
kind of a threat is not unrealistic in a Georgian province populated
with ethnic minorities.
According to Azglobus.net, the Armenians living in Georgia's southern
province of Samtskhe-Javakheti are planning an armed rebellion against
the Georgian state with Armenia's active and comprehensive aid.
"Armenian media have waged an information war on Georgia so far.
Hundreds of materials prepared by the ideologists of the Dashnak
terrorist organization have been posted on the Internet. They are
also conducting ideological and propaganda work among the Armenian
population of this Georgian province.
"There are reports that young Armenians living in Javakheti are forming
units that are being sent to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh for combat
training in the camps of ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation
of Armenia)," the website wrote. Several videos were also posted there.
According to the Medianews agency, Azerbaijani Vice President Ali
Hasanov has spoken about the sending of people to Russia and Georgia
with the subversive mission of fomenting national hatred.
"According to Azerbaijani Vice President Ali Hasanov, Armenia is
training terrorist groups on Azerbaijan's occupied territories and
sending them not only to Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey but also to
the Middle East and Europe.
"According to Hasanov, they are sending those people on subversive
missions to Russia and Georgia in order to foment national hatred
there. The Azerbaijani Government representative claims that they
are also using the occupied territories for drug trafficking," the
news agency's report said.
Arnold Stepanyan, head of the Common Civil Movement -Multiethnic
Georgia union, believes that the dissemination of such reports is
advantageous for Azerbaijan and they have nothing to do with reality.
"One could have taken this information seriously had it been
disseminated by some Armenian media entity. However, if the
Azerbaijani side has so much information as to what is being planned
in Samtskhe-Javakheti, it does not bode well for Georgia, Armenia,
and Javakheti.
"There are no plans for a rebellion and there cannot be any. The
ethnic Armenians living in Javakheti did not do this when they had
the opportunity. I am talking about the time when there were problems
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. I believe that we do not need to talk
about this subject because it is unrealistic.
"We have a strong suspicion that interested circles are disseminating
this kind of information and the topographic materials depicting a
great Armenia that includes Abkhazia. Georgia is surrounded by groups
that are interested in the straining of Georgian-Armenian relations
but I am deeply convinced that this is impossible," Stepanyan told
Rezonansi.
Zaal Kasrelishvili, chairman of the Confederation of the Peoples of the
Caucasus, does not rule out the threat of separatism in Javakheti and
says that such activities are usually planned by people in the Kremlin.
"We believe that this information needs to be checked without fail. We
made a statement two or three months ago, saying that Javakhk is
starting some secret activities," he told Rezonansi.
"Azerbaijanis have always been careful as far as Georgian-Armenian
relations are concerned. They have always tried to be polite and not
to interfere in Georgia's and Armenia's internal political affairs
from the ethnic angle because they know very well that there is no
conflict between the Azerbaijanis and Armenians living in Georgia.
"Certainly, Azerbaijan is interested in securing Georgia's strategic
partnership in the Karabakh matter. It is always trying to obtain
information about the activities of the so-called Javakhk [Armenian
name for Georgia's Javakheti region][public movement seeking local
autonomy] and send it to the Georgian authorities.
"I cannot tell you for certain whether or not this information is
true. The Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus made a statement
two or three months ago and we said that the Moscow-based leaders of
the Javakhk movement had made serious statements regarding Georgia's
territorial integrity which went unnoticed for some reason.
We have not heard such a blunt statement and categorical attitude
since then.
"I believe that this statement is sufficient reason for the Georgian
political leadership and the country's special services to start an
investigation and check those reports.
"This statement is not unrealistic. It is simply up to the special
services to investigate it and to determine how big a problem this
could be in the future. It does not matter whether the organization is
called Javakhk or something else and whether it has many people and
strong influence or not. What matters is that they will use the name
of this organization to carry out unconstitutional actions against
the Georgian state.
"Their headquarters could be located near the Georgian border in
Armenia, but it is clear that they are receiving their instructions
from the Kremlin," Zaal Kasrelishvili said.
Arnold Stepanyan believes that a rebellion is also impossible in
Samtskhe-Javakheti because, in his opinion, the social and economic
situation has improved considerably in the region since 2003.
"I criticize the government very often over human rights violations.
Ethnicity is not the sole factor behind these problems because human
rights in general are being violated very seriously. Javakheti and
Samegrelo are the worst regions in this regard.
"However, if we discuss the economic and the social conditions,
there is a huge difference between 2003 and the current situation.
Communications are better, roads have been repaired, and people can
travel to Tbilisi faster than they could before. There is the problem
of water but it is not as serious as it used to be. The infrastructure
is improving. I would not say that 90 per cent of the locals support
the government but this support is likely to be stronger now than it
was before.
"The problem that the locals face is that they continue to live in an
information vacuum, just like the people in Georgia's other provinces.
The information that is disseminated there in Georgian comes from
the government-controlled news sources. There are local TV stations
but the government controls them too. People also watch Armenian and
Russian TV stations. They cannot watch neutral TV stations like Maestro
[Tbilisi-based private pro-opposition TV channel] or read a newspaper
like Rezonansi," Arnold Stepanyan told us.
However, Zaal Kasrelishvili believes that, despite some progress,
the government does not pay sufficient attention to the province
populated with ethnic minorities.
"The Georgian political leadership has always tried to establish
good relations with the local population in Samtskhe-Javakheti, or
at least they have made such a declaration. However, I still think
that the Georgian political leadership has paid as little attention
to Samtskhe-Javakheti as it has to other provinces.
"The statements that everything is supposedly all right in
Samtskhe-Javakheti are part of ordinary PR. The government may have
better relations with the residents of Samtskhe-Javakheti than it
did in [former President Eduard] Shevardnadze's time but this is not
enough and it does not mean that the problem has been solved there,"
Zaal Kasrelishvili said.
[translated from Georgian]
by Tamta Virsaladze's
Rezonansi
July 31 2012
Georgia
Arnold Stepanyan: 'There are groups that are interested in straining
Georgian-Armenian relations'
Azerbaijani news portal Azglobus.net has predicted an armed
rebellion in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Zaal Kasrelishvili, chairman of the
Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus, has urged the Georgian
special services to check this information and has said that this
kind of a threat is not unrealistic in a Georgian province populated
with ethnic minorities.
According to Azglobus.net, the Armenians living in Georgia's southern
province of Samtskhe-Javakheti are planning an armed rebellion against
the Georgian state with Armenia's active and comprehensive aid.
"Armenian media have waged an information war on Georgia so far.
Hundreds of materials prepared by the ideologists of the Dashnak
terrorist organization have been posted on the Internet. They are
also conducting ideological and propaganda work among the Armenian
population of this Georgian province.
"There are reports that young Armenians living in Javakheti are forming
units that are being sent to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh for combat
training in the camps of ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation
of Armenia)," the website wrote. Several videos were also posted there.
According to the Medianews agency, Azerbaijani Vice President Ali
Hasanov has spoken about the sending of people to Russia and Georgia
with the subversive mission of fomenting national hatred.
"According to Azerbaijani Vice President Ali Hasanov, Armenia is
training terrorist groups on Azerbaijan's occupied territories and
sending them not only to Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey but also to
the Middle East and Europe.
"According to Hasanov, they are sending those people on subversive
missions to Russia and Georgia in order to foment national hatred
there. The Azerbaijani Government representative claims that they
are also using the occupied territories for drug trafficking," the
news agency's report said.
Arnold Stepanyan, head of the Common Civil Movement -Multiethnic
Georgia union, believes that the dissemination of such reports is
advantageous for Azerbaijan and they have nothing to do with reality.
"One could have taken this information seriously had it been
disseminated by some Armenian media entity. However, if the
Azerbaijani side has so much information as to what is being planned
in Samtskhe-Javakheti, it does not bode well for Georgia, Armenia,
and Javakheti.
"There are no plans for a rebellion and there cannot be any. The
ethnic Armenians living in Javakheti did not do this when they had
the opportunity. I am talking about the time when there were problems
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. I believe that we do not need to talk
about this subject because it is unrealistic.
"We have a strong suspicion that interested circles are disseminating
this kind of information and the topographic materials depicting a
great Armenia that includes Abkhazia. Georgia is surrounded by groups
that are interested in the straining of Georgian-Armenian relations
but I am deeply convinced that this is impossible," Stepanyan told
Rezonansi.
Zaal Kasrelishvili, chairman of the Confederation of the Peoples of the
Caucasus, does not rule out the threat of separatism in Javakheti and
says that such activities are usually planned by people in the Kremlin.
"We believe that this information needs to be checked without fail. We
made a statement two or three months ago, saying that Javakhk is
starting some secret activities," he told Rezonansi.
"Azerbaijanis have always been careful as far as Georgian-Armenian
relations are concerned. They have always tried to be polite and not
to interfere in Georgia's and Armenia's internal political affairs
from the ethnic angle because they know very well that there is no
conflict between the Azerbaijanis and Armenians living in Georgia.
"Certainly, Azerbaijan is interested in securing Georgia's strategic
partnership in the Karabakh matter. It is always trying to obtain
information about the activities of the so-called Javakhk [Armenian
name for Georgia's Javakheti region][public movement seeking local
autonomy] and send it to the Georgian authorities.
"I cannot tell you for certain whether or not this information is
true. The Confederation of the Peoples of the Caucasus made a statement
two or three months ago and we said that the Moscow-based leaders of
the Javakhk movement had made serious statements regarding Georgia's
territorial integrity which went unnoticed for some reason.
We have not heard such a blunt statement and categorical attitude
since then.
"I believe that this statement is sufficient reason for the Georgian
political leadership and the country's special services to start an
investigation and check those reports.
"This statement is not unrealistic. It is simply up to the special
services to investigate it and to determine how big a problem this
could be in the future. It does not matter whether the organization is
called Javakhk or something else and whether it has many people and
strong influence or not. What matters is that they will use the name
of this organization to carry out unconstitutional actions against
the Georgian state.
"Their headquarters could be located near the Georgian border in
Armenia, but it is clear that they are receiving their instructions
from the Kremlin," Zaal Kasrelishvili said.
Arnold Stepanyan believes that a rebellion is also impossible in
Samtskhe-Javakheti because, in his opinion, the social and economic
situation has improved considerably in the region since 2003.
"I criticize the government very often over human rights violations.
Ethnicity is not the sole factor behind these problems because human
rights in general are being violated very seriously. Javakheti and
Samegrelo are the worst regions in this regard.
"However, if we discuss the economic and the social conditions,
there is a huge difference between 2003 and the current situation.
Communications are better, roads have been repaired, and people can
travel to Tbilisi faster than they could before. There is the problem
of water but it is not as serious as it used to be. The infrastructure
is improving. I would not say that 90 per cent of the locals support
the government but this support is likely to be stronger now than it
was before.
"The problem that the locals face is that they continue to live in an
information vacuum, just like the people in Georgia's other provinces.
The information that is disseminated there in Georgian comes from
the government-controlled news sources. There are local TV stations
but the government controls them too. People also watch Armenian and
Russian TV stations. They cannot watch neutral TV stations like Maestro
[Tbilisi-based private pro-opposition TV channel] or read a newspaper
like Rezonansi," Arnold Stepanyan told us.
However, Zaal Kasrelishvili believes that, despite some progress,
the government does not pay sufficient attention to the province
populated with ethnic minorities.
"The Georgian political leadership has always tried to establish
good relations with the local population in Samtskhe-Javakheti, or
at least they have made such a declaration. However, I still think
that the Georgian political leadership has paid as little attention
to Samtskhe-Javakheti as it has to other provinces.
"The statements that everything is supposedly all right in
Samtskhe-Javakheti are part of ordinary PR. The government may have
better relations with the residents of Samtskhe-Javakheti than it
did in [former President Eduard] Shevardnadze's time but this is not
enough and it does not mean that the problem has been solved there,"
Zaal Kasrelishvili said.
[translated from Georgian]