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ARMENIA-GEORGIA: CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS ON BOTH SIDES CREATE TENSION AHEAD OF IVANISHVILI'S YEREVAN VISIT
Analysis | 17.01.13 | 13:05
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Georgia's new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's first official
visit to Armenia is accompanied with a certain degree of tension in
Armenian-Georgian relations.
During the last month two senior figures in Georgia, in particular
Foreign Minister of Georgia Maya Panjikidze and Catholicos-Patriarch
of All Georgia Ilia II, reportedly made controversial comments
regarding the Karabakh conflict, mainly expressing support for
Azerbaijan's territorial integrity in its dispute with Armenia. The
statements were met critically by some media and pundits in Armenia.
There were some controversial comments going the opposite direction as
well, as one of the presidential candidates in Armenia's unfolding
race, Vardan Sedrakyan (often referred to as the Eposaget, or an epic
studies specialist due to one of his former occupations) has made
anti-Georgian statements, drawing an angry reaction in the neighboring
republic and causing an escalation of tension in relations between the
two neighbors.
In his program related to foreign policies Sedrakyan, an obscure
figure in Armenian politics who became known to the public due to his
declaration of an intent to run for president months before the
election, said [the Armenian-populated Georgian province of] Javakhk
should be reunited with Armenia and Armenia should recognize the
independence of [Georgian breakaway republics of] Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. He said he had "analyzed" the situation and concluded that
"after destroying Syria the West would switch over to the long-planned
program of eliminating Armenia with the assistance of the 'fraternal'
Georgians."
Even though these statements in no way reflect the state policies of
Armenia, nonetheless in Georgia they elicit some reaction, which, as
many ethnic Armenians in Georgia complain, creates "unnecessary
tensions and anti-Armenian sentiments".
"Irresponsible statements perhaps do not attract as much attention in
Armenia, but here [in Georgia] people don't know whether this man is a
serious politician and presidential candidate or not, and his words do
matter in a certain way," Chairman of the Union of Armenians of
Georgia Henrikh Muradyan explained to ArmeniaNow.
Georgia is home to more than 200,000 Armenians. In one of his first
post-election interviews current Prime Minister Ivanishvili
controversially expressed his astonishment at why Armenians do not go
to live in their homeland. "We, Georgians, are so strange, we are
connected to our land. This is our nature, For example, we have
Armenians living in our country. We are surprised that they live here.
Perhaps such questions do not occur to you, but it is unclear to me,"
said Ivanishvili in an interview with the Russian newspaper,
Newtimes.ru, last autumn.
The interview raised a new wave of anger among Javakhk Armenians, who,
although they became more cautious because of the imprisonment of
three activists (two of whom were released under an amnesty earlier
this month), still insisted that Ivanishvili owed an explanation
because they thought Armenians lived in their historical lands.
Specialist in Georgian studies who teaches at the Yerevan State
University Haykazun Alvrtsyan thinks that Georgia is advancing more
claims and is carrying out larger anti-Armenian propaganda than even
Turkey or Azerbaijan.
"This is certainly a more covert propaganda, but even in the textbooks
approved by the state it is obvious that Georgia has territorial
claims to Armenia. They show maps, alleging that many lands in today's
Armenia once belonged to Georgia, including historical Armenian lands
such as the whole area of Ani (now in eastern Turkey)," says
Alvrtsyan, stressing that the Government of Armenia should pay more
attention to the problem of Javakhk.
Another cause for tensions in Armenian-Georgian relations is the issue
of the ownership of Armenian churches in Georgia, the poor condition
in which they are now, and, as Armenian experts argue, the
'Georgianization' of Armenian monuments.
Last May heavy rains in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi damaged the
local Armenian Surb (Saint) Nshan church, several other Armenian
churches have been in a neglected state and have collapsed in Georgia
recent years. "For some reason rains in Georgia damage only Armenian
monuments," says monuments expert Samvel Karapetyan, implying that the
damage occurs only where monuments are neglected.
Armenian analysts expect no immediate answers to be given during
Ivanishvili's Yerevan visit, to issues that have been on the agenda of
Armenian-Georgian relations for years - such as the question of
education for Javakhk Armenians, their language and ethnic identity,
liberties, the protection of Armenian monuments and their legal
status.
After seeing his political party's success in last October's election,
Ivanishvili, as Prime Minister, is expected to assume full executive
power in the country after current President Mikheil Saakashvili's
departure from the top post later this year.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/42609/armenia_georgia_relations_bidzina_ivanishvili_visi t
Analysis | 17.01.13 | 13:05
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Georgia's new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's first official
visit to Armenia is accompanied with a certain degree of tension in
Armenian-Georgian relations.
During the last month two senior figures in Georgia, in particular
Foreign Minister of Georgia Maya Panjikidze and Catholicos-Patriarch
of All Georgia Ilia II, reportedly made controversial comments
regarding the Karabakh conflict, mainly expressing support for
Azerbaijan's territorial integrity in its dispute with Armenia. The
statements were met critically by some media and pundits in Armenia.
There were some controversial comments going the opposite direction as
well, as one of the presidential candidates in Armenia's unfolding
race, Vardan Sedrakyan (often referred to as the Eposaget, or an epic
studies specialist due to one of his former occupations) has made
anti-Georgian statements, drawing an angry reaction in the neighboring
republic and causing an escalation of tension in relations between the
two neighbors.
In his program related to foreign policies Sedrakyan, an obscure
figure in Armenian politics who became known to the public due to his
declaration of an intent to run for president months before the
election, said [the Armenian-populated Georgian province of] Javakhk
should be reunited with Armenia and Armenia should recognize the
independence of [Georgian breakaway republics of] Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. He said he had "analyzed" the situation and concluded that
"after destroying Syria the West would switch over to the long-planned
program of eliminating Armenia with the assistance of the 'fraternal'
Georgians."
Even though these statements in no way reflect the state policies of
Armenia, nonetheless in Georgia they elicit some reaction, which, as
many ethnic Armenians in Georgia complain, creates "unnecessary
tensions and anti-Armenian sentiments".
"Irresponsible statements perhaps do not attract as much attention in
Armenia, but here [in Georgia] people don't know whether this man is a
serious politician and presidential candidate or not, and his words do
matter in a certain way," Chairman of the Union of Armenians of
Georgia Henrikh Muradyan explained to ArmeniaNow.
Georgia is home to more than 200,000 Armenians. In one of his first
post-election interviews current Prime Minister Ivanishvili
controversially expressed his astonishment at why Armenians do not go
to live in their homeland. "We, Georgians, are so strange, we are
connected to our land. This is our nature, For example, we have
Armenians living in our country. We are surprised that they live here.
Perhaps such questions do not occur to you, but it is unclear to me,"
said Ivanishvili in an interview with the Russian newspaper,
Newtimes.ru, last autumn.
The interview raised a new wave of anger among Javakhk Armenians, who,
although they became more cautious because of the imprisonment of
three activists (two of whom were released under an amnesty earlier
this month), still insisted that Ivanishvili owed an explanation
because they thought Armenians lived in their historical lands.
Specialist in Georgian studies who teaches at the Yerevan State
University Haykazun Alvrtsyan thinks that Georgia is advancing more
claims and is carrying out larger anti-Armenian propaganda than even
Turkey or Azerbaijan.
"This is certainly a more covert propaganda, but even in the textbooks
approved by the state it is obvious that Georgia has territorial
claims to Armenia. They show maps, alleging that many lands in today's
Armenia once belonged to Georgia, including historical Armenian lands
such as the whole area of Ani (now in eastern Turkey)," says
Alvrtsyan, stressing that the Government of Armenia should pay more
attention to the problem of Javakhk.
Another cause for tensions in Armenian-Georgian relations is the issue
of the ownership of Armenian churches in Georgia, the poor condition
in which they are now, and, as Armenian experts argue, the
'Georgianization' of Armenian monuments.
Last May heavy rains in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi damaged the
local Armenian Surb (Saint) Nshan church, several other Armenian
churches have been in a neglected state and have collapsed in Georgia
recent years. "For some reason rains in Georgia damage only Armenian
monuments," says monuments expert Samvel Karapetyan, implying that the
damage occurs only where monuments are neglected.
Armenian analysts expect no immediate answers to be given during
Ivanishvili's Yerevan visit, to issues that have been on the agenda of
Armenian-Georgian relations for years - such as the question of
education for Javakhk Armenians, their language and ethnic identity,
liberties, the protection of Armenian monuments and their legal
status.
After seeing his political party's success in last October's election,
Ivanishvili, as Prime Minister, is expected to assume full executive
power in the country after current President Mikheil Saakashvili's
departure from the top post later this year.
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/42609/armenia_georgia_relations_bidzina_ivanishvili_visi t