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PASSPORT DILEMMA FOR GEORGIANS AND ARMENIANS IN JAVAKHETI
Georgia Today, Georgia
Feb 12 2015
by Zaza Jgharkava
In the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia the passport issue
has become something of a hot topic. When ethnic Armenians with dual
citizenship received notification from the Ministry of Justice recently
which cancelled their Georgian citizenship, they found themselves being
forced to choose between keeping the citizenship of their historical
homeland or permanently taking on that of the country to which they
became citizens upon their application several years previously. For
the 2009-2013 (June 30) period, the number of such citizens is 2380.
The situation in Samtskhe-Javakheti increased in intensity last year
when the Georgian government tightened the visa policy about citizens
of foreign countries and restricted the permitted period of presence
in the country to 180 days. The government explained the stricter visa
policy as a consequence of the signing of the Associaiton Agreement
between the European Union and Georgia. However, before the signing of
the Agreement, the Law on the Citizenship of Georgia already stated
that a person should give up citizenship of Georgia when taking on
another foreign citizenship. Thus, the passport dilemma in Javakheti
has nothing to do with the EU Association Agreement and in fact began
much further back.
On February 26, 2007, the Parliament of the Armenian Republic adopted
a legislative pack on dual citizenship. Many ethnic Armenian citizens
of Georgia used the law to take Armenian passports, allowing them to
easily cross the Russian border where they found work illegally.
Sarkis Merabyan, residing in Diliski village of Akhalkalaki
district, already has Armenian citizenship. To achieve that,
he filed an application in Yerevan, provided copies of birth and
wedding certificates certified in Georgia, then gave evidence of
his history, his work contract and eight photos to the Foreign
Ministry. Following that, he paid the official fee in a bank and
received Armenian citizenship two months later. "I was interested in
receiving Armenian citizenship since it makes it easier to get into
Russia. My friends left this way and easily entered Russia [There
is no-visa regime between Yerevan and Moscow]: they simply bought a
ticket at the airport, got their visa in their passport and that was
it. This is why I want dual citizenship," Merabyan told Guria Moambe.
The law adopted in Yerevan did not only have ethnic grounds,
something which became clear after the law was adopted following
the 2008 August War. Alex Nebadze from Akhaltsikhe expressed his
wish to receive Armenian citizenship. He applied to the Ministry of
Justice in Yerevan but was rejected. "I lived in Russia illegally
for 14 years. I arrived in Georgia before the August events [2008]
and now I cannot return there. I received an invitation from my wife
twice but the situation between the two countries is very tense. I
tried to register in Armenia but I was rejected. They told me that
citizenship can only be granted to the Armenian citizens of Georgia,"
Nebadze told Guria Moambe.
After the occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, the Kremlin
made it easier for non-Georgians wanting to go to Russia to get there.
Through the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia, a simplified process of
issuing Russian citizenship documents to ethnic Armenians living in
Samtskhe-Javakheti and other Russian-speaking populations of Georgia
began. Many experts openly state that handing Russian passports to
ethnic Armenians in Javakheti is a sign that after stabilizing the
situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin will try to ignite a large-scale
conflict between Georgia and Armenia. Political analyst Soso Tsintsadze
is certain that if not for the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin would start
military actions in Javakheti. "This is a classic example of justifying
occupation. This is what Hitler did when he granted passports to
Sudeten Germans before World War II, and then asked the Czechs to
give up the territory. Our case is similar. I find the presence of
thousands of Russian citizens on Georgian territory very dangerous,
as several doctrines of Russia directly envisage the deployment of
troops in order to protect their citizens. A small simple provocation
would be enough to be considered as harmful to an ethnic Armenian
citizen of Russia and as a justification for Russia to bring down
its army to protect its citizens," Tsintsadze told news agency GHN.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that, for many
Armenians living in Javakheti, rejecting Russian citizenship means
rejecting the small income that they might make in Russia. Therefore,
the Georgian Dream government should look for the solution to this
dilemma from an economic perspective. Otherwise, it will face mass
protests in Javakheti, with unpredictable results.
http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=13211
From: Baghdasarian
Georgia Today, Georgia
Feb 12 2015
by Zaza Jgharkava
In the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia the passport issue
has become something of a hot topic. When ethnic Armenians with dual
citizenship received notification from the Ministry of Justice recently
which cancelled their Georgian citizenship, they found themselves being
forced to choose between keeping the citizenship of their historical
homeland or permanently taking on that of the country to which they
became citizens upon their application several years previously. For
the 2009-2013 (June 30) period, the number of such citizens is 2380.
The situation in Samtskhe-Javakheti increased in intensity last year
when the Georgian government tightened the visa policy about citizens
of foreign countries and restricted the permitted period of presence
in the country to 180 days. The government explained the stricter visa
policy as a consequence of the signing of the Associaiton Agreement
between the European Union and Georgia. However, before the signing of
the Agreement, the Law on the Citizenship of Georgia already stated
that a person should give up citizenship of Georgia when taking on
another foreign citizenship. Thus, the passport dilemma in Javakheti
has nothing to do with the EU Association Agreement and in fact began
much further back.
On February 26, 2007, the Parliament of the Armenian Republic adopted
a legislative pack on dual citizenship. Many ethnic Armenian citizens
of Georgia used the law to take Armenian passports, allowing them to
easily cross the Russian border where they found work illegally.
Sarkis Merabyan, residing in Diliski village of Akhalkalaki
district, already has Armenian citizenship. To achieve that,
he filed an application in Yerevan, provided copies of birth and
wedding certificates certified in Georgia, then gave evidence of
his history, his work contract and eight photos to the Foreign
Ministry. Following that, he paid the official fee in a bank and
received Armenian citizenship two months later. "I was interested in
receiving Armenian citizenship since it makes it easier to get into
Russia. My friends left this way and easily entered Russia [There
is no-visa regime between Yerevan and Moscow]: they simply bought a
ticket at the airport, got their visa in their passport and that was
it. This is why I want dual citizenship," Merabyan told Guria Moambe.
The law adopted in Yerevan did not only have ethnic grounds,
something which became clear after the law was adopted following
the 2008 August War. Alex Nebadze from Akhaltsikhe expressed his
wish to receive Armenian citizenship. He applied to the Ministry of
Justice in Yerevan but was rejected. "I lived in Russia illegally
for 14 years. I arrived in Georgia before the August events [2008]
and now I cannot return there. I received an invitation from my wife
twice but the situation between the two countries is very tense. I
tried to register in Armenia but I was rejected. They told me that
citizenship can only be granted to the Armenian citizens of Georgia,"
Nebadze told Guria Moambe.
After the occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine, the Kremlin
made it easier for non-Georgians wanting to go to Russia to get there.
Through the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia, a simplified process of
issuing Russian citizenship documents to ethnic Armenians living in
Samtskhe-Javakheti and other Russian-speaking populations of Georgia
began. Many experts openly state that handing Russian passports to
ethnic Armenians in Javakheti is a sign that after stabilizing the
situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin will try to ignite a large-scale
conflict between Georgia and Armenia. Political analyst Soso Tsintsadze
is certain that if not for the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin would start
military actions in Javakheti. "This is a classic example of justifying
occupation. This is what Hitler did when he granted passports to
Sudeten Germans before World War II, and then asked the Czechs to
give up the territory. Our case is similar. I find the presence of
thousands of Russian citizens on Georgian territory very dangerous,
as several doctrines of Russia directly envisage the deployment of
troops in order to protect their citizens. A small simple provocation
would be enough to be considered as harmful to an ethnic Armenian
citizen of Russia and as a justification for Russia to bring down
its army to protect its citizens," Tsintsadze told news agency GHN.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that, for many
Armenians living in Javakheti, rejecting Russian citizenship means
rejecting the small income that they might make in Russia. Therefore,
the Georgian Dream government should look for the solution to this
dilemma from an economic perspective. Otherwise, it will face mass
protests in Javakheti, with unpredictable results.
http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=13211
From: Baghdasarian