ARMENIAN THINK-TANK ACCUSES GEORGIA OF PURSUING ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICY

Armenpress
Oct 09 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS: Two analysts of a Yerevan-based Mitk
(Thought) think-tank rapped today Georgia’s leadership for pursuing
what they said was ‘a pronounced anti-Armenian’ domestic and foreign
policy.

The analysts, Kadmus Balkhchian and Edward Abrahamian, argued during
a news conference that Georgia’s recent policies were unacceptable
for the international community. They said they had arrived at this
conclusion after looking into a long string of stories in Georgian
media on national minorities. "Our main conclusion is that the
policy of Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili is harmful to
Georgian-Armenian friendly relations," they said.

One of the analysts, Kadmus Balkhchian, said the region of Javakheti
in southern Georgia which is now populated predominantly by ethnic
Armenians is being populated by Meskhetian Turks and ethnic Georgians
with the aim of driving Armenians out. He said a similar policy had
been conducted some 40 years ago in another region of Akhaltsikhe
that once had mostly Armenian population, as a result the number of
Armenians there drastically declined.

The two analysts then accused Georgian authorities of preventing ethnic
Armenians’ from keeping executive and legislative positions. They
also said in October 5 municipal elections in Georgia 1,000 Armenian
voters in Javakheti province failed to find their names in voter lists.

They also accused Saakashvili of plans to sign an agreement on purchase
of potato from neighboring Turkey, though he knows well that the main
source of income for Armenians in Javakheti is potato growing.