Regnum, Russia
March 10 2006
Ethnic clashes in Tsalka (Georgia): police used force
As REGNUM already informed, on March 9, at about 06:00 p.m. local
time, in the city of Tsalka (regional center of Kvemo-Kartli Region,
Georgia) an armed attack was held against a group of young ethnic
Armenians. The attack was committed in the city’s center, when the
company departed from a restaurant. When they were getting into a
car, unidentified people suddenly attacked them, dragged out of the
car and started beating them. As witnesses and one of the victims
said, there were about 15 attackers, some of them armed with cold
steel. As a result of the attack, 23-year-old Gevorg Gevorkyan was
injured with a knife and died at the scene. V. Saakyan, 25, was
wounded in the leg, K. Baloyan, 25, seven hours later was delivered
to hospital in Tbilisi with a severe wound. After the attack the
criminals escaped.
As Javakh news agency `A-Info’ informs, police arrested three
suspects that are currently interrogated. About 300 Armenians
gathered near the police building, who demand fair punishment to the
murderers. The protesters have broke several windows in the police
building. As a response, the Georgian SWAT that arrived from Tbilisi
drove the protesters back, brutally beating them with machine guns
and batons. Currently, police building is surrounded by SWAT.
According to Armenian MP of Tsalka region Hayk Militinyan, 150 people
were hurt during the clash between police and the protesters.
The victims say, they do know the reasons of the attack. As they
think, a group of Adjarian or Svani settlers attacked them. All
victims are from the same village, Kushi (Tsalka region). According
to eye-witnesses, some time later, all the entrances to the city of
Tsalka from the side of Armenian villages were blocked by units of
special forces deployed in the region. Other ways, including the road
leading to the capital were open.
Conflicts in Tsalka region are often because of Armenian and Greek
communities that live there along with Georgians, who moved there
from Ajaria and Svanetia after ecological catastrophes, and occupied
empty houses of local citizens, who emigrated or were temporarily
abroad. Such illegal intrusion into private property along with
increase of crime level in the area because of immigration cause
indignation of local residents.
Similar conflict existed earlier. Largest confrontation took place on
May 9, 2005 when in conflict between Armenians and Georgians around
30 people were wounded. Such incident cause Georgian authorities to
deploy the national guard in the region, but positive effect of this
action is highly questioned by local population.