Does Georgia equally belong to all its citizens regardless the nationality?

PanARMENIAN.Net - It is no secret that the Armenians of Georgia always vote for the regime, regardless who is being elected. Moreover, the Armenians, who are in the Parliament, become the most fervent guides of the politics of Michael Sahakashvili, and maybe, this is exactly why the Deputy Van Baiburt is appointed the advisor of the President, which, however, does not have any positive effect on the condition of the Armenians in Georgia, who more and more often come across the Georgian unveiled chauvinism. This is particularly reflected in the sphere of education, where the teachers of the
Armenian schools, who do not speak Georgian, have no right to work in high schools. The truth is though, that in Javakh this law is not executed yet, but it is only a matter of time. One more very serious problem for Javakh is the return of Meskhet Turks. It should be mentioned that the Georgian people call the Meskhets Georgian, having adopted Islam.

"The return of the Meskhet Turks is fraught with negative outcomes, first of all for those from Tbilisi. I am sure now and I was sure 10 years ago that the demand of the European Council about the return of the Meskhs to Georgia will not bring to any good. But unfortunately they will put pressure on us in this matter," thinks the Georgian political scientist Georgie Govsadze. The people of Javakh have been preparing for the possible return of the Meskhs for many years. According to the representative of the Armenian community of Akhaltskha Lyudvig Petrosyan, clashes were inevitable. However, the Georgian authorities do not give permission yet for settling the Meskhs in the regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo-Kartli which are populated by the Armenian. Kvemo-Kartli, by the way, is mostly populated by the Azeri people, who are also against the return of the Meskhs.

Meanwhile, on the opinion of Hrant Margaryan the Armenian nation must use all the chances for the recognition of the autonomy of Javakh in the international level. "We support the fight of the Armenian people in Javakh for the autonomy. The response for our benevolence in this issue is the silence of Tbilisi and the international community. This is why it is the right time to start the fight for self-determination with a new force," emphasized Margaryan. This is not the first time we hear such announcements, but they always remain purely declarative. The silence of Georgia and Armenia in this issue is understandable: Tbilisi thinks that it will one day have the second Karabakh, Armenia does not want to lose the only outlet to the world, which passes through Georgia. Maybe this is how the viewpoint of the Armenian authorities and the Church regarding the appropriation of the Armenian churches by the Georgian Orthodox Church may be explained. The Armenian community in Georgia and in particular the public organizations of Javakh blame Armenia for the infringement of the rights of the Armenians in Georgia. Maybe there is some truth in what they say. However, there is such a notion as non-interference in the home affairs of another country. This is the very case. In this kind of situations both parties are to blame. The Armenians from Georgia, who during centuries have had their irreplaceable asset in the culture and industry of the country, have done nothing to protect own rights

We should have fought for "Norashen" and Khodjivank, when the Georgian historian Bondo Arveladze started publishing his books which stated that "not the Georgians have appropriated the Armenian churches but vise versa", or when the books of the history of Georgia speak about the Armenians as if they would speak of their worst enemy.

Coming back to the situation in Javakh, it should be mentioned, that the Armenians of the region believe that the Georgian authorities have secret schemes of "rarefaction" of the Armenian region by the help of assimilation or putting pressure on the Armenians. However, President Saakashvili during his visit to Javakh says that Georgia equally belongs to all its citizens regardless the nationality.