ARMENIANS WANT TO ANNEX GEORGIA’S JAVAKHETI – HISTORIAN
news.az
March 1 2010
Azerbaijan
Guram Markhulia Armenian demands for autonomy in Georgia’s
Samtskhe-Javakheti region are a prelude to attempts to annex the
territory, a Georgian historian has said.
Armenia has decided to contribute to policy targeting Georgia,
Guram Markhulia, Georgian historian and professor at Sukhumi state
university, said, commenting on Armenian diaspora demands for autonomy
in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia.
The professor said that Armenian media print anti-Georgian publications
on the need for autonomy and for Armenian access to the sea.
"Armenia will never get this. Today the Armenian nationalists think
they can settle this issue. This will never happen. Georgia will
never give its lands to Armenians," he said.
He thinks that Armenians have no problems in Javakheti or in Georgia
overall.
"Armenians are represented both in the parliament and government of
Georgia. It is not true that they live badly there. Both Armenians
and Azerbaijanis are equal to Georgians. There is no region in Georgia
where the population lives better than in other regions. The economic
situation is the same throughout Georgia. Armenians want autonomy
in order to annex this region further to Armenia. These are their
political ambitions and they strive to have access to the sea. This
results in the ideological attack against Georgia. They hoped that
President Mikheil Saakashvili would discuss the issue with the Armenian
president," he said.
"Armenians are aliens not only in Georgia but also throughout the
Caucasus. They were settled in Azerbaijani and Georgian historical
lands by the Russians in 1828. Meanwhile, Armenians in Javakheti
came from Turkey and did not live in these lands before. Instead of
saying ‘thank you’, the Armenian people are demanding autonomy in
this Georgian region," he said.