BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
… Turks, Georgians and Azeris? Apparently, they’re vanishingly small and irrelevant, at least among the ruling classes of these three peoples.
Of course one of these groups lives to the west of our people, another to the north and the last to the east. One’s largely Christian the other two largely Moslem. But these are all insignificant relative to what they all seem to like doing against Armenians.
OK, so the Georgians have never subjected us to Genocide or major massacres as the Turks and Azeris have done with ferocious frequency. But on the other hand, the Turks and Azeris never stole relief supplies sent to Genocide survivors, or later Sbeedag earthquake survivors, as those materials transited their countries. Obviously this is because they would never have allowed such, but it does demonstrate the Georgians’ hardheartedness towards us.
I never used to understand why our compatriots in Armenia didn’t like the Georgians much. There’s even that Soviet-era joke about not meeting quotas. Armenia comes up short on wool, so all the men are shorn of their chest hair. But they’re smiling even as this humiliation is happening. Asked why, they reply, “the Georgians are short on their egg quota…” Think in Armenian to get this joke.
But now I get it. The Georgian government is buddy-buddy with Azerbaijan, all in the interest of getting transit fees from the oil and gas pipelines running from the latter through the former to the Black Sea and Turkey. The Georgians are buddy-buddy with Turkey in their quixotic tilting at the Russian windmill.
On a different pipeline front, Tiflis periodically “threatens” to sell ownership to Azerbaijan of the pipeline that carries natural gas from Russia to Armenia. Imagine what a chokehold that would give to Baku on Yerevan!
All these speak of an broad antipathy towards Armenians.
But the worst of it is the Georgian government’s persecution of Armenians living in Georgia on their ancestral lands. They might not do much to Armenians living in Tiflis, the capital, where foreign, diplomatic, eyes are everywhere. But get out to the countryside and…
This is of course most true in Javakhk. There’s been no end of the reporting on the lack of under-development, lack of infrastructure, paucity of Armenian language education (and education in general) in the area. Does this sound like what Azerbaijan did to Artzakh and Nakhichevan throughout the Soviet era? What about the Ottoman Empire’s “Armenia without Armenians” policy?
Then we have the takeover of Armenian church buildings by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Maybe they’re envious of the fact that the Armenian Apostolic Church was able to avoid absorption into the Russian church during the tzarist era because we stood up for our institution better than they did for theirs.
All this reflects a clear policy aimed at driving out Armenians from Javakhk to complete the process initiated when Stalin, himself a Georgian, severed the province from Armenia and attached it to Georgia.
We must support our compatriots in Javakhk to maintain our presence on the land. Simultaneously we must play the heavy to the Republic of Armenia’s wimp when it comes to exposing Georgia’s duplicity— playing the part of a “democratic” society in the eyes of the West while persecuting Armenians by depriving them of civil rights and jailing those who dare oppose these obscene policies. Yerevan has to pussy-foot around Tiflis because they are concerned about transit routes from the north. We must speak out, loudly. Please let your elected representatives know how you feel about this.
What about the policies of our own Armenian government when it comes to forcing villagers to flee the RA?
Onerous taxes, exhorbitant bank loan rates, and land swindles all make for unhappy rural residents who leave for Russia and neighboring Georgia to find gainful employment and set up businesses.
It’s about time we get our own house in order.
Gainful employment in Georgia? With their double digit inflation and hatred for Armenians?
Look at the statistics of casualties in the latest Georgian wars (with Russia in 2008 and now in Afghanistan?) – why do Armenians have to die for the Georgian micro-Empire in such disproportionate numbers?
Georgians are very good dancers, they also developed the art of Toasting that no one can compete with, but when it comes to fighting for their country they prefer to send minorities (now pretty much it’s just Armenians) to die for their President who like to chew his own ties.
So, when Georgia attacked Ossetia, they gathered Armenian reservists from Javakh and sent them to fight with Russians (who also had many Armenians in the units that took most of the casualties.)
And now Georgia is fighting in Afghanistan, but who is getting killed there?
March 14, 2011 – Georgian Corporal Valeri Verskian died from injuries received in an explosion.
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=23238
Oh, I forgot to mention that in addition to dancing and toasting they are also Georgian smart – by adding an “i” at the end of the killed soldier’s last name they just double killed that Armenian and created a new Georgian hero. He is now “Verskiani”… Same trick is done to Armenian churches in Georgia and the whole province of the Armenian Javakh – by calling it “Javakheti” they claim it was always Georgian.
Absolutely, rid Haiastan of the leaderships which have ‘taken’ rather than ‘given’ to our citizens of Haiastan… Armenians will seek to to come to Armenia!
Manooshag
Iran “the axis of evil” is building a road to Armenia. and a pipeline to Armenia. When this happens, the economy of Armenia won’t be so dependent on Georgia and will hopefully turn around.
St. Mesrob helped form the Georgian alphabet. This is why it looks similar.
The Georgians think Armenians as not to be trusted since Armenians are allied with Russia–their enemy.
I gave yet to meet a Georgian who will acknowledge Mashdots. Every single one says that their alphabet was not written by an Armenian, but not one can name a Georgian responsible for it.
Looking at history, we have always been loyal neighbors to them and have bailed their tiny kingdom out of trouble numerous times, only to have them backetab us.
According to wikipedia, Georgians have had 3 alphabets. The current one they appear to be using appeared in the 11th century. The one that looks the most Armenian to me is the alphabet named Nuskhuri, which appeared in the 9th century. The oldest one named Asomtavruli existed as early as 439 AD, based on the oldest known usage of that script. If Mashdots created or had a hand in any Georgian alphabet, it would be that one.
My two cents worth of comments is that there exists bigger politics at play in Javakh region. In brief, it is the British and British petroleum. Sometimes British politics pushed under the guise of EU.
You see, the West (primarily the US State Department and their British cohorts would like to gain access and control of the World’s largest gas and oil fields. Th Caspian basin and Central Asia have energy reserves to supply the entire World for the next 200 years. Turkmenistan is floating in gas and Kazakhstan has more oil than the entire Middle-East. Who ever has control of these energy resources basically controls the World.
The problem is how the West will gain access? Europe relies on the Russian Federation for about 40% of its gas supplies as the pipelines travel East to West from Russia to Europe. The West would like to remove Europe’s dependency on Russia. Weaken Russia’s leverage, power over Europe, diminish its revenues; and move in to the kill by dismembering the Russian Federation into dozens of independent Republics, such as Daghestan, Chechnia, Ingushetia, kabardino Balkar, Tataristan, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, etc..
The only route for the West to gain access to the Caspian basin and Central Asia’ oil and gas is via the Caucasus; meaning either Armenia or Georgia.
Under no circumstance would the Russian Federation allow Georgia to fall into NATO or the EU, as that would endanger the Russian Federation as it becomes effectively surrounded by NATO from the Baltic Sea to the Caucasus; and allows the West to gain control of the Caspian basin and Central Asia’s Oil and Gas.
Russia whacked Georgia (but not enough)by attacking it on August 8, 2008 in a clear signal to the West under the excuse of Ossetia and Abkhazia. The US SD and the Brits see the Georgia route as unreliable and unstable to risk laying down additional pipelines (NABUCO project).
The West will either force Armenia to capitulate and fore it to accept Turkish conditions to agree to open the borders (and pass the pipelines across Armenia) and snatching away from the Russian sphere of influence – desirable as Armenia has no land connection with Russia. Or, continue working on removing untrusted elements – Armenians – out of the energy corridor path – Javakh -.in Georgia.
The once touted Turkey-corridor from Europe to the Caspian Sea Basin, and on to Central Asia’s enormous gas reserves is a dead-end energy corridor for the West, which is led by the failed-US-State-Department policies. Azerbaijan is landlocked from the West and thus can not exports its gas and oil to Western markets.
What’re is not a word.
I am in full agreement with Berge.
Guys (and gals), we can criticize the Georgians all we want. There is endless ammunition of such criticism. But, until and unless we get our own house in order, we cannot influence these processees. We need to fix Armenia first, and then we’ll be better equipped and more confident in the way we deal with our neighbors. Right now, the exodus from Javakhk is no worse than the one taking place in the Republic of Armenia. The Georgians are squeezing us out because they’re looking out for their own interest (at least that’s what they think). When will we look out for our own interest? When will Armenia become the home of the Armenian nation, not in the sense of every Armenian necessarily living there, but in the sense of Armenian not wanting to leave Armenia and Diasporans always having the option of moving there if they so desire. If we create that situation, Georgians will not be ver hard for us to deal with.
Georgians do not deserve the good fortune of having five ethnic minorities forced to live under their yoke. No country that oppresses its minorities deserves to continue ruling over them. First Ossetia, then Abkhazia, then Ajaria and finally the Armenian Zhavakhk should one day come out of their rule. We will not ignore the fate of Armenians in Zhavakhk. We will strive to change the regime in Armenia to make it free of the corruption and respond to the plight of Armenians in Zhavakhk.