CONTROVERSIAL INITIATIVE PROPOSED IN AKHALKALAKI
The Messenger, Georgia
March 20 2013
The Akhalkalaki City Council has requested that the Armenian language
be granted regional language status. This region of Georgia is
comprised of many ethnic Armenians. As such, certain moves initiated
within this community occasionally indicate a push for Armenian
separatism.
Some analysts suggest that the Akhalkalaki City Council wants to
realize the ~SArmenian Dream~T under the Georgian Dream~Rs governance.
City council member Sarkiz Uzunyan is the one who proposed the
controversial initiative, which is based on the European Charter
on regional and minority languages. Uzunyan suggested that since
Georgia recognized and supported the idea of integration into the EU,
the government should respect and support the documents which are
promoted by the EU. He recommended that Georgia follow the principles
initiated by European organizations aimed at protecting and developing
the languages of national minorities, as well as the country~Rs other
regional languages.
The Akhalkalaki City Council, which mainly consists of ethnic
Armenians, asked the Georgian Parliament to take relevant steps in
this direction. However, the former majority representatives from
the United National Movement (UNM) oppose such moves.
The Georgian Dream on the other hand, has not revealed its official
position regarding the issue, but it is facing a difficult dilemma
that needs to be solved sooner rather than later.
The UNM~Rs criticism aimed at Georgian Dream members highlights
that during its time in office, no platform was provided for such
controversial initiatives. UNM Secretary General, Vano Merabishvili,
dedicated a press conference to this issue recently and has asked
Georgian Dream officials to cooperate on the matter.
Current Minister of the Interior, Irakli Gharibahsvili, said that the
situation is under control in Javakheti and nothing extraordinary is
happening there. However, it is widely suspected that if the Georgian
government ratifies the charter, a very unpopular outcome may follow
within Georgian civil society. In addition, there currently appears
to be no unity within the Georgian Dream itself regarding this issue.
Experts and the public await further developments.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2013/03/21/tbilisi-controversial-initiative-proposed-in-akhalkalaki/
