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POST-CRIMEA, PHANTOM OF ARMENIAN SEPARATISM HAUNTS GEORGIA
EurasiaNet.org
April 9 2014
April 9, 2014 - 11:50am, by Paul Rimple and Justyna Mielnikiewicz
For many in Georgia, Russia's annexation Crimea is reigniting fears
about separatism rooted in ethnic conflict and Kremlin meddling. But
now Georgians aren't just worrying about the breakaway entities of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they also are concerned about the loyalty
of the predominantly ethnic-Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti.
While locals dismiss separatism concerns as nonsense, some say the
speculation on the issue is indicative of a failure on the Georgian
central government's part to address complaints of the country's
Armenian-speaking minority in Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is roughly
a three-hour drive south of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Officials
contend progress has been made, but concede more can be done on the
inclusivity issue.
A mountainous, ragtag region bordering both Turkey and Armenia,
Samtskheâ~@~PJavakheti contains roughly 250,000 ethnic Armenians;
55 percent of the region's total population, according to Georgia's
latest census, compiled in 2002. Knowledge of the Georgian language
here can run thin. At the same time, in the view of some outsiders,
sympathy for Russia, which, until 2007, operated a 15,000-man base
in the regional town of Akhalkalaki, can run strong.
Over the past few weeks, suspicions among Georgians about the country's
Armenian minority have risen, fueled by memories of Tbilisi's 2008
conflict with Russia, as well as the Kremlin's recent land-grab in
Crimea. Underscoring those suspicions was the appearance of unconfirmed
media reports about ethnic Armenians from Samtskhe-Javakheti allegedly
applying, en masse, to receive Russian passports.
Senior Georgian government officials have denied categorically these
reports, but, as Russia-Ukraine tension threatens to boil over, such
media coverage, condemned as sensationalism by three local watchdog
groups, could well continue. "Somebody is interested in stirring up
the water," commented Seda Melkumian, the Samtskheâ~@~PJavakheti
representative for the Ombudsman's Office. "So far, I haven't met
one person with a Russian passport."
Interethnic suspicion stems from a long-time tug-of-war over greater
language rights for the region's Armenian speakers; for some Georgians,
it's a campaign reminiscent of ethnic Russians' complaints in Crimea.
But residents adamantly deny that such a struggle could encourage
them to break with Tbilisi. "We aren't separatists," asserted Melik
Raisian, a former member of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition from
Akhalkalaki. "We are Georgian citizens. Why do we always have to
prove we're not separatists for wanting our rights?"
The separatist perception is generally connected to the United
Javakh Democratic Alliance ("Javakh"), a nationalist movement that
has called for political autonomy in the past. Many of the movements'
key members, including leader Vahag Chakhalian, were arrested in 2008
following a fatal bombing near the home of a police chief in the town
of Akhalkalaki. Chakhalian was released in 2013 as part of Georgia's
mass amnesty of prisoners.
Javakh has little influence today, although many can identify with
its grievances. The 2007 closure of Akhalkalaki's Russian army base
left many locals unemployed; as of 2012, the official unemployment
rate stood at 7.5 percent. Many had hoped to find work on the
Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, which goes through Javakheti, yet few have
been employed.
The lack of economic opportunities drives many residents to Russia
for work. Melkumian estimates that about half of Javakheti's families
have some family member in Russia. "In the villages, every family
has somebody there," she said.
That situation, though, is no different from elsewhere in Georgia,
noted Ewa Chylinski, director of the European Center for Minority
Issues in Tbilisi. As of this January, the Russian Federation ranked
as the largest source of Georgia's remittances, roughly $46.6 million
in 2013, according to the National Bank of Georgia.
Nonetheless, the money trail does not mean a desire for independence.
Chylinski rejected the notion of a separatist threat in Javakheti as
"groundless." The main problem is not autonomy, but language, she
said. People cannot participate in Georgian society if they do not
speak Georgian.
But for many in Samtskhe-Javakheti, that does not affect their
identification with Georgia. "I'm Armenian, but I was born in Georgia.
My father was born in Georgia. His father was born in Georgia and
I will live in Georgia," declared octogenarian Artush Artkopian,
speaking via a teenage translator in Armenian since his knowledge of
Georgian and Russian is limited.
Last year, Akhalkalaki's local council announced plans to petition
the Georgian parliament to ratify the European Charter for Regional
of Minority Languages, a Council of Europe convention that would make
Armenian an official local language for Samtskhe-Javakheti. Getting
no support in Tbilisi, where opposition from the Georgian Orthodox
Church and politicians runs strong, the matter was soon dropped.
The central government, though, has taken some concrete steps to
increase knowledge of Georgian. In 2010, the Ministry of Education
established a program, called the "4 + 1" system," which established
a 5-percent quota for ethnic minorities in Georgian universities.
Minority applicants to four-year higher educational facilities take an
entrance exam in their own language, as well as an intensive one-year
Georgian-language course.
Shorena Tetvadze, director of the Akhalkalaki branch of the Zurab
Zhvania School of Public Administration, deems the program a success.
After six years of 4 + 1, 130 ethnic Armenians graduated from Georgian
universities in 2013, compared with only two in 2006, she said.
Akhalkalaki's five grammar schools all teach Georgian, a policy the
State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality calls a relative
success. Three are Armenian-language schools, one is Russian and
the other a Georgian school, with an enrollment of 120. Tetvadze,
who is half ethnic Armenian, thinks more parents would enroll their
children in the Georgian school if they did not fear assimilation. But
45 kilometers north of Akhalkalaki, in the ethnically mixed regional
seat of Akhaltsikhe, 68-year-old barber Ambarcum Arakian dismissed
that concern.
"Here, we're all natives. The Georgians know Armenian and the Armenians
know Georgian," Arakian emphasized. He added that his grandson is
attending university via the 4+1 program, and his granddaughter is
going to a Georgian-language kindergarten "so she will know Georgian
better."
"I'm not afraid of assimilation," he said. "We won't lose our culture."
Editor's Note: Paul Rimple is a freelance reporter based in
Tbilisi. Justyna Mielnikiewicz is a freelance photojournalist also
based in Tbilisi.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68253
EurasiaNet.org
April 9 2014
April 9, 2014 - 11:50am, by Paul Rimple and Justyna Mielnikiewicz
For many in Georgia, Russia's annexation Crimea is reigniting fears
about separatism rooted in ethnic conflict and Kremlin meddling. But
now Georgians aren't just worrying about the breakaway entities of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, they also are concerned about the loyalty
of the predominantly ethnic-Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti.
While locals dismiss separatism concerns as nonsense, some say the
speculation on the issue is indicative of a failure on the Georgian
central government's part to address complaints of the country's
Armenian-speaking minority in Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is roughly
a three-hour drive south of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Officials
contend progress has been made, but concede more can be done on the
inclusivity issue.
A mountainous, ragtag region bordering both Turkey and Armenia,
Samtskheâ~@~PJavakheti contains roughly 250,000 ethnic Armenians;
55 percent of the region's total population, according to Georgia's
latest census, compiled in 2002. Knowledge of the Georgian language
here can run thin. At the same time, in the view of some outsiders,
sympathy for Russia, which, until 2007, operated a 15,000-man base
in the regional town of Akhalkalaki, can run strong.
Over the past few weeks, suspicions among Georgians about the country's
Armenian minority have risen, fueled by memories of Tbilisi's 2008
conflict with Russia, as well as the Kremlin's recent land-grab in
Crimea. Underscoring those suspicions was the appearance of unconfirmed
media reports about ethnic Armenians from Samtskhe-Javakheti allegedly
applying, en masse, to receive Russian passports.
Senior Georgian government officials have denied categorically these
reports, but, as Russia-Ukraine tension threatens to boil over, such
media coverage, condemned as sensationalism by three local watchdog
groups, could well continue. "Somebody is interested in stirring up
the water," commented Seda Melkumian, the Samtskheâ~@~PJavakheti
representative for the Ombudsman's Office. "So far, I haven't met
one person with a Russian passport."
Interethnic suspicion stems from a long-time tug-of-war over greater
language rights for the region's Armenian speakers; for some Georgians,
it's a campaign reminiscent of ethnic Russians' complaints in Crimea.
But residents adamantly deny that such a struggle could encourage
them to break with Tbilisi. "We aren't separatists," asserted Melik
Raisian, a former member of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition from
Akhalkalaki. "We are Georgian citizens. Why do we always have to
prove we're not separatists for wanting our rights?"
The separatist perception is generally connected to the United
Javakh Democratic Alliance ("Javakh"), a nationalist movement that
has called for political autonomy in the past. Many of the movements'
key members, including leader Vahag Chakhalian, were arrested in 2008
following a fatal bombing near the home of a police chief in the town
of Akhalkalaki. Chakhalian was released in 2013 as part of Georgia's
mass amnesty of prisoners.
Javakh has little influence today, although many can identify with
its grievances. The 2007 closure of Akhalkalaki's Russian army base
left many locals unemployed; as of 2012, the official unemployment
rate stood at 7.5 percent. Many had hoped to find work on the
Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, which goes through Javakheti, yet few have
been employed.
The lack of economic opportunities drives many residents to Russia
for work. Melkumian estimates that about half of Javakheti's families
have some family member in Russia. "In the villages, every family
has somebody there," she said.
That situation, though, is no different from elsewhere in Georgia,
noted Ewa Chylinski, director of the European Center for Minority
Issues in Tbilisi. As of this January, the Russian Federation ranked
as the largest source of Georgia's remittances, roughly $46.6 million
in 2013, according to the National Bank of Georgia.
Nonetheless, the money trail does not mean a desire for independence.
Chylinski rejected the notion of a separatist threat in Javakheti as
"groundless." The main problem is not autonomy, but language, she
said. People cannot participate in Georgian society if they do not
speak Georgian.
But for many in Samtskhe-Javakheti, that does not affect their
identification with Georgia. "I'm Armenian, but I was born in Georgia.
My father was born in Georgia. His father was born in Georgia and
I will live in Georgia," declared octogenarian Artush Artkopian,
speaking via a teenage translator in Armenian since his knowledge of
Georgian and Russian is limited.
Last year, Akhalkalaki's local council announced plans to petition
the Georgian parliament to ratify the European Charter for Regional
of Minority Languages, a Council of Europe convention that would make
Armenian an official local language for Samtskhe-Javakheti. Getting
no support in Tbilisi, where opposition from the Georgian Orthodox
Church and politicians runs strong, the matter was soon dropped.
The central government, though, has taken some concrete steps to
increase knowledge of Georgian. In 2010, the Ministry of Education
established a program, called the "4 + 1" system," which established
a 5-percent quota for ethnic minorities in Georgian universities.
Minority applicants to four-year higher educational facilities take an
entrance exam in their own language, as well as an intensive one-year
Georgian-language course.
Shorena Tetvadze, director of the Akhalkalaki branch of the Zurab
Zhvania School of Public Administration, deems the program a success.
After six years of 4 + 1, 130 ethnic Armenians graduated from Georgian
universities in 2013, compared with only two in 2006, she said.
Akhalkalaki's five grammar schools all teach Georgian, a policy the
State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality calls a relative
success. Three are Armenian-language schools, one is Russian and
the other a Georgian school, with an enrollment of 120. Tetvadze,
who is half ethnic Armenian, thinks more parents would enroll their
children in the Georgian school if they did not fear assimilation. But
45 kilometers north of Akhalkalaki, in the ethnically mixed regional
seat of Akhaltsikhe, 68-year-old barber Ambarcum Arakian dismissed
that concern.
"Here, we're all natives. The Georgians know Armenian and the Armenians
know Georgian," Arakian emphasized. He added that his grandson is
attending university via the 4+1 program, and his granddaughter is
going to a Georgian-language kindergarten "so she will know Georgian
better."
"I'm not afraid of assimilation," he said. "We won't lose our culture."
Editor's Note: Paul Rimple is a freelance reporter based in
Tbilisi. Justyna Mielnikiewicz is a freelance photojournalist also
based in Tbilisi.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68253