NONE AZERBAIJANIS TO DEMAND AUTONOMY IN GEORGIA: DIASPORA ORGANIZATION CHAIRMAN

TREND News Agency
Aug 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 August / Trend News corr. J.Babayeva /Alibala
Askarov, Chairman of Azerbaijanis Geyrat popular movement, considers
the information of Georgian Azerbaijanis demand autonomy in Georgia
groundless and provocative.

"Georgian Azerbaijanis never demand for autonomy in Georgia. Sucu
information is spread by non-official source and is provocative,"
Askarov told Trend News via a telephone from Tbilisi.

Media released the information that some national minorities, which
reside in Georgia, use the territorial issue after recognition of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Russia.

On 26 August, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, issued a decree to
recognize the independence of S.Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The council of Armenian public organizations Samtskhe-Javakheti and
Kvemo Kartli made a statement to provide Samtskhe-Javakheti and other
territories populated with Armenians self-governing status.

According to Askarov, the information that Georgian Armenians demand
autonomy may turn out to be right. "So far, such statements have not
been made. Naturally, Armenians want to take advantage of the current
situation for their own purpose," Askarov said.

The situation in Georgia is still strained and concerns Azerbaijanis in
Georgia. "Azerbaijanis and other national minorities suffer as a result
of the clash of interests of the two great powers," Askarov said.

According to non-official data, some 500,000 Azerbaijanis live in
the Kvemo-Kartli region.

Under the statistics, about 70% populations in Georgia are Georgians,
as well as 380,000 -Armenians, 350,000 – Azerbaijanis, 207,000
-Russians, 150,000- Ossetin, 100,000 -Abkhaz, 80,000- Greeks, Kurds,
Udin, Avar and others.