GEORGIA’S ARMENIAN AND AZERI MINORITIES

Source: Crisis Group
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Reuters, UK
Nov 22 2006

Tbilisi/Brussels, 22 November 2006: The Georgian government must take
significant steps to avoid conflict in the country’s ethnic Armenian
and Azeri areas.

Georgia’s Armenian and Azeri Minorities,* the latest report from
the International Crisis Group, examines the grievances of these two
communities. While there is no risk of the situation becoming Ossetian-
or Abkhaz-like threats to Georgia’s territorial integrity, tensions
are evident in the regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo-Kartli,
where the two predominantly live. There have been demonstrations,
alleged police brutality and killings during the past two years.

Georgia has made little progress towards integrating these minorities,
who constitute over 12 per cent of the population.

Armenians and Azeris are underrepresented in all spheres of public
life, especially government, and a lack of dialogue between them and
Tbilisi adds to perceptions of discrimination and alienation. This
is aggravated by economic problems, including high unemployment and
decaying infrastructure.

"Tbilisi needs to do much more to build confidence and to encourage
minorities to address their problems through state structures rather
than in the street", says Sabine Freizer, Crisis Group’s Caucasus
Project Director.

While the government denies there is any inequality, many minorities
claim they are treated as second-class citizens. Feeling betrayed by
the Abkhaz and Ossetians, who declared independent states on Georgian
territory, Tbilisi has a deeply rooted, if unfounded, fear that others
may do the same. More sensitive and effective minority policies would
dampen such demands and might even help build trust with the Abkhaz
and Ossetians.

Some steps have been taken to improve the lives of minorities. With
donor support, Georgia has invested in road and infrastructure
rehabilitation in minority regions and created a ministry for civic
integration, established a public administration institute to train
minorities and ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities.

None of this is likely to appease minorities’ political grievances
without policies that increase inclusion and participation.

Implementation of local government reform after the 2006 elections
provides a new platform for minorities to affect decision making
through municipal bodies. More consultation by Tbilisi when drafting
legislation can also help.

The government needs to establish a comprehensive education system
to teach Georgian as a second language to minorities, but while a
new generation is educated, minorities should not be discriminated
against, especially in hiring for state jobs. The state should also
implement its international commitments, particularly allowing use
of minority languages for government business in municipalities with
large numbers of minority citizens, as is standard throughout Europe.

"Only by acting on both tracks will Georgia succeed in reducing
tensions and increasing minority integration", says Nicholas Whyte,
Crisis Group’s Europe Program Director.

Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635 Kimberly
Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1601 To contact Crisis Group media
please click here *Read the full Crisis Group report on our website:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Georgia is a multinational state, building democratic institutions
and forging a civic identity. However, it has made little progress
towards integrating Armenian and Azeri minorities, who constitute over
12 per cent of the population. Tensions are evident in the regions
of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo-Kartli, where the two predominantly
live and which have seen demonstrations, alleged police brutality
and killings during the past two years. While there is no risk of
these situations becoming Ossetian or Abkhaz-like threats to the
state’s territorial integrity, Tbilisi needs to pay more attention
to minority rights, including use of second languages, if it is to
avoid further conflict.

Some steps have been taken to improve the lives of minorities. With
donor support, Georgia has invested in road and infrastructure
rehabilitation in minority regions; created a ministry for civic
integration; established a public administration institute to train
minorities; and ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities. But overall the priority has been to assert
national unity over minority protection.

Azeris and Armenians are underrepresented in all spheres of public
life, especially government. The problem is especially acute for the
Azeris in Kvemo-Kartli, where Georgians hold all important positions.

Ethnic minorities’ political participation and representation – a key
to more effective integration – is disturbingly low. Lack of dialogue
between Tbilisi and minorities adds to perceptions of discrimination
and alienation.

The minorities’ biggest problem is inability to speak the state
language. Since the Rose Revolution, the government has been enforcing
laws obliging minorities to communicate in Georgian with local
officials, even to acquire official documents, submit complaints or
receive services. State jobs and professional licences are contingent
on knowing Georgian and passing new qualification exams. Language
instruction in schools is inadequate, and fewer minorities are
attending higher education institutions.

The administration of President Saakashvili is undertaking ambitious
local government reforms. A new law on self-governance was passed in
2005 and elections for new municipalities were held in October 2006.

Yet, power remains largely with regional and Tbilisi-based officials.

Minorities are unconvinced decentralisation will give them greater
decision-making influence. Armenians especially want to take their
own decisions on such issues as education and culture. Unless
decentralisation allows this, they will continue to demand autonomy
for Samtskhe-Javakheti. (Azeri activists in Kvemo-Kartli prioritise
greater representation in local government rather than autonomy.)

Minorities have been emigrating to Armenia and Azerbaijan. However,
Yerevan and Baku do not publicly advocate on behalf of their
respective minorities. Their priority is good relations with Tbilisi
and short-term stability. Armenians are mobilising politically more
than Azeris but both minorities have organised recent protests which
have on occasion turned violent. Tbilisi needs to do more to encourage
minorities to address their problems through state structures rather
than in the street.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Georgian Government:

To develop and implement more effective overall minorities policy

1. Complete work on the National Civic Integration Strategy and Action
Plan and allocate funds in the 2007 state budget to implement them.

2. Increase funding and capacities for the Ministry for Civic
Integration and appoint a senior, respected official as presidential
adviser on civic integration issues.

3. Ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
and the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation
between Territorial Communities or Authorities.

4. Take affirmative action to encourage minorities’ representation
in central and regional government.

5. Fund public defender’s offices in Marneuli and Akhalkalaki.

6. Consult with councils (sakrebulos) in municipalities with over 20
per cent minorities on issues sensitive for minorities and include
their representatives in the National Council on Civic Integration
and Tolerance.

7. Consult with the Council of National Minorities when drafting new
laws affecting minorities.

8. Continue investigation into land distribution in Kvemo-Kartli and
expropriate and redistribute land obtained illegally to local farmers.

9. Make evening news TV broadcasts available in local languages in
Kvemo-Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti.

To secure minorities’ rights in public administration and education

10. Introduce legislation allowing Azeris and Armenians, in
municipalities where they exceed 20 per cent of the population, to use
their native language to communicate with administrative authorities,
submit complaints, acquire civil documents and certificates, benefit
from public services and conduct municipal business and sakrebulo
meetings.

11. Amend all laws on civil service testing so that where minorities
are over 20 per cent of the population, officials may be eligible
to serve without knowing the state language at least for an interim
period of ten to fifteen years.

12. Amend the 2005 Law on General Education to emphasise bilingual
education in minority areas and ensure that core social science
subjects are taught in Azeri and Armenian (in parallel with Georgian).

13. Strengthen Georgian as a second language (GSL) teacher training,
development of GSL teaching materials and opportunities for minorities
to learn GSL in primary and secondary schools.

14. Improve access to higher education by amending rules to allow
minority students to take national entrance examinations in Russian,
Armenian or Azeri and provide intensive GSL study to students who do
not pass Georgian language exams.

15. Transform the Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration into
a two-year civic administration academy targeting minorities and
offering intensive GSL training; set quotas so that at least 50 per
cent of new entrants in the Akhalkalaki branch of the Tbilisi State
University and the Marneuli branch of the Ilya Chavchavadze State
University are minorities; and accept Armenian government support to
improve the Akhalkalaki branch of the Tbilisi State University.

16. Create joint commissions with Azerbaijan and Armenia to develop
history textbooks for Georgian schools.

To improve minorities’ access to the judicial system and participation
in local government

17. Strengthen public services at the municipal level.

18. Allow judicial proceedings in Azeri or Armenian in municipalities
with over 20 per cent minorities.

19. Translate into Armenian and Azeri and disseminate all new
legislation.

20. Revise electoral boundaries to ensure equal representation in
municipal councils and equality of suffrage.

21. Remove legal and administrative barriers to registration of
political parties on a regional or ethnic basis and decrease the
threshold for a party’s representation in the parliament to 5 per
cent nationally.

22. Distribute information, manuals for precinct election commissions
(PECs), voter lists, ballots and protocols certifying results in
bilingual form in municipalities with over 20 per cent minorities.

Tbilisi/Brussels, 22 November 2006

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