GEORGIAN SETTLERS RESPOND TO ARMENIAN PROTESTS IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA

Kavkas-Press
16 Mar 06

Tbilisi, 16 March: About 70 local Svans [resettled natives of the
Svaneti mountain region] have gathered in the centre of Tsalka [town
in southern Georgia with a large Armenian population] in preparation
for a protest rally. Kavkas-Press’s regional correspondent reported
that earlier in the day they had travelled around local villages to
gather supporters.

The protesters told Kavkas-Press that police had tried to prevent
the rally. They said that police had arrested Georgians travelling
from Dedoplistsqaro to Tsalka and were preventing them from attending
the rally.

The protesters are holding the rally in response to the one staged
a few days ago by ethnic Armenians in Tsalka. Tension escalated in
Tsalka last week after 24-year-old ethnic Armenian Gevork Gevorkyan
was killed during a clash between Georgian and Armenian youths. After
the incident local Armenians held a protest rally at which they said
they were being oppressed by Georgians.

There were reports this morning that no rally would take place,
which the head of the Tsalka local administration confirmed.