"Uprising" in Georgia’s Armenian-populated region said unlikely

Rezonansi, Tbilisi
3 May 07, pp 1, 4

The United Javakhk political movement functioning in Georgia’s
Samtskhe-Javakheti region predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians
has said that the Georgian government’s actions have brought the
region’s Armenian population to the brink of a popular uprising, the
Georgian newspaper Rezonansi has reported. The newspaper said that the
United Javakhk’s statement followed the detention of its member on
hooliganism charges. The newspaper quoted Georgian MP Van Baiburt as
saying that viewing regular hooliganism in political context is
stupid. The following is an excerpt from the report by Elza Tsiklauri
in Georgian newspaper Rezonansi on 3 May headlined "United Javakhk is
starting rebellion? ‘Tbilisi government’s actions have led Javakheti’s
Armenians to brink of popular uprising’"; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

Ethnic Armenian group threatens with "popular uprising"

The United Javakhk, an organization functioning in Samtskhe-Javakheti
[region of Georgia predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians],
demanded that Artur Poghosyan, member of their organization who was
detained for hooliganism several days ago, be released. It says that,
otherwise, Georgia’s central government will be held fully responsible
for destabilization in Akhalkalaki. The organization members are
talking about an uprising too. They said that "the Georgian side’s
actions and pressure on the Armenian-speaking population" has prompted
them to do this.

The United Javakhk made the statement after the 24 April incident and
accused employees of the local law-enforcement bodies of
anti-Armenian, provocative actions. They provided as an argument the
arrest of their organization members, Artur Poghosyan and former
Akhalkalaki Mayor Nairi Iritsyan, by the police several days ago.

[Passage omitted on the details of the incident which resulted in the
detention of Poghosyan and Iritsyan]

Poghosyan was transferred to the detention facility in Tbilisi while
Iritsyan was released on bail.

The United Javakhk organization called the incident "a provocation
planned in advance" and demanded that Poghosyan be immediately
released by the Georgian authorities.

"The United Javakhk Democratic Alliance reaffirms its criticism of the
massive violation of the Armenian population’s rights and intimidation
of people by means of illegal, strong-arm and provocative actions. We
also condemn the detention of political figures ‘uncontrolled’ by the
Tbilisi government which is based solely on false accusations. Such
actions have brought Javakheti’s Armenians to the brink of a popular
uprising, which will have undesirable results in the future.

"The alliance demands that Artur Poghosyan, who is being illegally
held in Tbilisi’s detention facility, be immediately released and
false criminal proceedings initiated against him be terminated. Also,
we inform the public that, should the detainee fail to be released and
pressure related to language and religion continue, the Georgian
central government and its puppet government in Javakheti will be
fully responsible for destabilization.

"The alliance confirms that it will struggle for the constitutional
rights of the Javakheti population and will contribute to the
democratization process in Georgia," the statement disseminated by the
United Javakhk says.

It is a noteworthy circumstance that the United Javakhk has made harsh
anti-Georgian statements and [threatened] to start destabilization in
the region several times now. Apparently, however, this did not go
beyond statements. Today too, the talk about insurgency in
Samtskhe-Javakheti is being called unrealistic.

Georgian MP says Armenians won’t take to the streets

Georgian MP Van Baiburt criticized the United Javakhk’s statement and
said that the incident should not be given a political underpinning.

"No rally was held in Akhalkalaki and no one was detained for making
harsh statements there. It was regular hooliganism and the culprit has
to be held responsible. An offender must be punished regardless of
whether he or she is Armenian or Georgian. Staging political actions
because of hooliganism and giving it a political underpinning is
stupid. Today, however, this incident and the arrested member of the
United Javakhk alliance are being capitalized on.

"I want to tell you, though, that Armenians from Akhalkalaki are not
the kind of people to take to the streets and stage a rebellion. They
would have already done this had they wanted to. Only the detainee’s
supporters will stage a small rally on account of this concrete
incident. In addition, the local authorities will not allow disorder
either. If the United Javakhk members think that they control
Akhalkalaki District, they are very much mistaken.

"This is why, should the investigation of this incident start and the
court hearing be held, I want them to be unbiased and reveal the truth
about what happened in Akhalkalaki on that day," Baiburt added in
conversation with Rezonansi.

Georgian pundits rule out "uprising" by Armenians

Paata Zakareishvili, conflictologist [affiliated with the opposition
Republican Party], ruled out [a possibility of] uprising in
Akhalkalaki too.

"If a person is guilty, he or she has to be held responsible according
to the law, there is no doubt about it. It is interesting, however,
why Artur Poghosyan was transferred to Tbilisi and why was he not left
in the local police [facilities]. It was precisely Poghosyan’s
transfer to Tbilisi that gave a political context to the incident,
which is certainly not good for us.

"As for disorder and destabilization, such statements were being made
before and during the Russian military bases’ withdrawal but,
fortunately, nothing happened. I do not think that something will
happen this time. Such a stir was raised only because Poghosyan was
transferred to Tbilisi," Zakareishvili said.

Mamuka Areshidze, expert in Caucasus affairs, called the United
Javakhk’s statement impossible to implement. He said that official
Yerevan itself will not allow such demonstrations on the part of
Akhalkalaki’s Armenian-speaking population.

"After this incident, part of Akhalkalaki’s Armenians demanded once
again that Armenian be given the same status as Georgian. This
resulted in [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan’s statement in
response. He said that Akhalkalaki’s Armenians must know Georgian
because they are Georgian citizens and live in Georgia.

"It cannot be ruled out that the United Javakhk will express its wish
to stage actions again but, given Kocharyan’s statement, I do not
think that these will develop into a large-scale upheaval. Armenia
does not welcome disturbances," Areshidze said.