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JAVAKHK: A TEST FOR GEORGIAN DEMOCRACY
http://asbarez.com/110823/javakhk-a-test-for-georgian-democracy/
Monday, June 24th, 2013
The old Armenian University in Akhalkalak
BY VARANT MEGUERDITCHIAN
The victory of opposition Georgian Dream Party leader Prime Minister
Bidzina Ivanishvili at the October 2012 Georgian Parliamentary
elections demonstrated the public's overwhelming rejection of the
decade-long domination of Georgian politics by President Mikeil
Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party.
In the preceding two years constitutional amendments were enacted that
would gradually shift Georgian political power from the President
to the Prime Minister. This ensured that the period of transition
in which Georgia finds itself today is marked by a power struggle
between the Presidency of Saakashvili and the Prime Ministership of
Ivanishvili. Georgia's numerous native ethnic minorities have been
impacted by this power struggle and the Armenians of Javakhk are
no different.
With him, Ivanishvili brought hope for reform and was warmly welcomed
by the Armenians of Javakhk. Just months later that hope turned to
promise, when in January 2013, during a visit to Armenia Ivanishvili
declared that the "ball is now in my court" to fulfil the election
promises and address the requests of the Javakhk Armenians which were
largely ignored during the dominance of the Saakashvili leadership.
Now, nine months on from his election victory what have these hopes
and promises meant, on the ground, for the Armenians of Javakhk?
Varant Meguerditchian
The release of activists Vahan Chakhalyan and Artur Poghosyan
demonstrated both Ivanishvili's power to make decisions and his intent
to bring about change. Both activists had been vocal but peaceful
advocates of the rights of Javakhk Armenians and had been arrested on
dubious charges. Ivanishvili also removed a number of Saakashvili's
personnel from key Javakhk regional government positions replacing
them with his own.
Beyond these actions, Ivanishvili has also made a series of promises to
be implemented in the future. These have included the promise to fund a
historical commission to determine the origins of churches in Javakhk
and, more broadly, in Georgia, the ownership of which is disputed by
the Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Church authorities. There
are promises also for improvements in the sphere of education for
the Armenians of Javakhk. Additional hours for teaching the Armenian
language, the addition of Armenian history into the school curriculum
and granting approval for the opening of a new Armenian University
campus in Georgia are just some of the initiatives around which there
is now serious speculation and hope. A review is underway to address
the unfair dismissal of Armenian teachers from schools in the Javakhk
region for their perceived inability or unwillingness to accept the
changes to Armenian schooling implemented by Saakashvili. There is
even talk of compensation for those affected.
The mood that has been created by the leadership of Ivanishvili
has given the Javakhk Armenians some necessary reprieve. Today,
the Armenians of Javakhk are unafraid of 'offending' the Georgian
government, and they more liberally exercise the freedoms of assembly
and expression. So much so that based on the various European
minority rights charters - including the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages - the Akhalkalak Regional Council (ARC)
resolved to apply to the Georgian government for the Armenian language
to be granted the status of an official regional language in Javakhk.
But the Armenians of Javakhk remain cautious. The power struggle
between Saakashvili and Ivanishvili has thus far made the ARC reluctant
to formally apply for Armenian language rights.
Saakashvili's refusal to acknowledge the needs of ethnic minorities
still has some influence over political decision-making in Georgia -
even if only to prevent further Armenian requests being fulfilled by
Ivanishvili. Aside from the promises for improvement to education
and religious rights, the situation largely remains the same. For
example, Armenians who voice the concerns of the Javakhk population
are still briefly interviewed at the Georgia-Armenia border upon
entry to Georgia.
There is some hope that at the upcoming Georgian Presidential elections
in October Giorgi Margvelashvili of Ivanishvili's Georgia Dream
coalition will defeat Saakashvili's United National Movement. If so,
Ivanishvili will be well-placed to implement some of these pledges for
reform. Margvelashvili is the current Georgian Education Minister in
Ivanishvili's cabinet under whom many of the promises for improving
the educational rights of Javakhk Armenians have been made.
According to the Global Democracy Ranking Index Georgia is ranked as
the 58th most democratic nation in the world. While Georgia's democracy
ranking is well above that of its Caucasus neighbours Armenia (89th)
and Azerbaijan (unranked) due to its efforts to reduce corruption,
Georgia has yet to prove its genuine democratic credentials. Given
the ethno-linguistic make-up of the Georgian state, with its Svan,
Mskhetian, Mingrelian, Laz, Ossetian, Adjarian, Abkhaz, Armenian and
other minority populations, one of the greatest measures of Georgian
democracy will be its treatment of ethnic minorities.
Time will tell whether there will be genuine reform or whether the
Armenians of Javakhk are just a pawn in the power struggle between
Saakashvili and Ivanishvili. The outcome of the Georgian Presidential
elections in October 2013, and the ensuing policies of whichever
political force assumes power thereafter, will be a major determining
factor of the immediate fate of the Armenians of Javakhk.
Varant Meguerditchian is the former Executive Director and President of
the Armenian National Committee of Australia. He currently works as a
government relations professional in Sydney. He holds undergraduate
and graduate degrees in politics and business administration and
is currently completing his second Master's degree in International
Relations.
http://asbarez.com/110823/javakhk-a-test-for-georgian-democracy/
Monday, June 24th, 2013
The old Armenian University in Akhalkalak
BY VARANT MEGUERDITCHIAN
The victory of opposition Georgian Dream Party leader Prime Minister
Bidzina Ivanishvili at the October 2012 Georgian Parliamentary
elections demonstrated the public's overwhelming rejection of the
decade-long domination of Georgian politics by President Mikeil
Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party.
In the preceding two years constitutional amendments were enacted that
would gradually shift Georgian political power from the President
to the Prime Minister. This ensured that the period of transition
in which Georgia finds itself today is marked by a power struggle
between the Presidency of Saakashvili and the Prime Ministership of
Ivanishvili. Georgia's numerous native ethnic minorities have been
impacted by this power struggle and the Armenians of Javakhk are
no different.
With him, Ivanishvili brought hope for reform and was warmly welcomed
by the Armenians of Javakhk. Just months later that hope turned to
promise, when in January 2013, during a visit to Armenia Ivanishvili
declared that the "ball is now in my court" to fulfil the election
promises and address the requests of the Javakhk Armenians which were
largely ignored during the dominance of the Saakashvili leadership.
Now, nine months on from his election victory what have these hopes
and promises meant, on the ground, for the Armenians of Javakhk?
Varant Meguerditchian
The release of activists Vahan Chakhalyan and Artur Poghosyan
demonstrated both Ivanishvili's power to make decisions and his intent
to bring about change. Both activists had been vocal but peaceful
advocates of the rights of Javakhk Armenians and had been arrested on
dubious charges. Ivanishvili also removed a number of Saakashvili's
personnel from key Javakhk regional government positions replacing
them with his own.
Beyond these actions, Ivanishvili has also made a series of promises to
be implemented in the future. These have included the promise to fund a
historical commission to determine the origins of churches in Javakhk
and, more broadly, in Georgia, the ownership of which is disputed by
the Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Church authorities. There
are promises also for improvements in the sphere of education for
the Armenians of Javakhk. Additional hours for teaching the Armenian
language, the addition of Armenian history into the school curriculum
and granting approval for the opening of a new Armenian University
campus in Georgia are just some of the initiatives around which there
is now serious speculation and hope. A review is underway to address
the unfair dismissal of Armenian teachers from schools in the Javakhk
region for their perceived inability or unwillingness to accept the
changes to Armenian schooling implemented by Saakashvili. There is
even talk of compensation for those affected.
The mood that has been created by the leadership of Ivanishvili
has given the Javakhk Armenians some necessary reprieve. Today,
the Armenians of Javakhk are unafraid of 'offending' the Georgian
government, and they more liberally exercise the freedoms of assembly
and expression. So much so that based on the various European
minority rights charters - including the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages - the Akhalkalak Regional Council (ARC)
resolved to apply to the Georgian government for the Armenian language
to be granted the status of an official regional language in Javakhk.
But the Armenians of Javakhk remain cautious. The power struggle
between Saakashvili and Ivanishvili has thus far made the ARC reluctant
to formally apply for Armenian language rights.
Saakashvili's refusal to acknowledge the needs of ethnic minorities
still has some influence over political decision-making in Georgia -
even if only to prevent further Armenian requests being fulfilled by
Ivanishvili. Aside from the promises for improvement to education
and religious rights, the situation largely remains the same. For
example, Armenians who voice the concerns of the Javakhk population
are still briefly interviewed at the Georgia-Armenia border upon
entry to Georgia.
There is some hope that at the upcoming Georgian Presidential elections
in October Giorgi Margvelashvili of Ivanishvili's Georgia Dream
coalition will defeat Saakashvili's United National Movement. If so,
Ivanishvili will be well-placed to implement some of these pledges for
reform. Margvelashvili is the current Georgian Education Minister in
Ivanishvili's cabinet under whom many of the promises for improving
the educational rights of Javakhk Armenians have been made.
According to the Global Democracy Ranking Index Georgia is ranked as
the 58th most democratic nation in the world. While Georgia's democracy
ranking is well above that of its Caucasus neighbours Armenia (89th)
and Azerbaijan (unranked) due to its efforts to reduce corruption,
Georgia has yet to prove its genuine democratic credentials. Given
the ethno-linguistic make-up of the Georgian state, with its Svan,
Mskhetian, Mingrelian, Laz, Ossetian, Adjarian, Abkhaz, Armenian and
other minority populations, one of the greatest measures of Georgian
democracy will be its treatment of ethnic minorities.
Time will tell whether there will be genuine reform or whether the
Armenians of Javakhk are just a pawn in the power struggle between
Saakashvili and Ivanishvili. The outcome of the Georgian Presidential
elections in October 2013, and the ensuing policies of whichever
political force assumes power thereafter, will be a major determining
factor of the immediate fate of the Armenians of Javakhk.
Varant Meguerditchian is the former Executive Director and President of
the Armenian National Committee of Australia. He currently works as a
government relations professional in Sydney. He holds undergraduate
and graduate degrees in politics and business administration and
is currently completing his second Master's degree in International
Relations.