JAVAKHK’S PROSPECTS FOR A NEW BEGINNING
by Michael Mensoian
February 6, 2013
The recent visit to Armenia by Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili
of Georgia may indicate a new beginning for the Armenians of Javakhk
(Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region). However, the Byzantine world
of international politics is part reality and part illusion. Gauging
intent from what political leaders say is not overly reliable.
A local Armenian stands amid ruins of an Armenian church in Javakhk
(Photo by Aaron Spagnolo, ) In an interview
a few days following Ivanishvili’s victory in the October 2012
parliamentary election, he expressed surprise that “the Motherland of
Armenia is just next door. For me it is incomprehensible. I have lived
in France, in the United States, but I’ve always seen my village,
my soil in my dreams.” While this comment may burnish his public
image as a nationalist and his emotional attachment to Georgia,
he failed to realize that the Javakhayer also see their village and
their soil in their dreams-Javakhk, and not Armenia-simply because
Javakhk has been the only home they and their ancestors have known
for centuries. Then, during his visit to Armenia, the prime minister
offered an opposing view that “…Armenians must feel in Georgia like
in their home country.” Hopefully it will be this sentiment that will
guide his actions.
While in Armenia, Ivanishvili graciously acknowledged the overwhelming
support the Javakhk-Armenians gave to his Georgian Dream Party (GDP).
In thanking them, he said he had made “…many promises. I won’t list
these promises now. But I guarantee that the ball is now in my court.”
During the parliamentary election, he continued, “I visited settlements
inhabited by Armenians and I got a hearty welcome. We understand each
other well. The government I head will do its best…to provide for
their integration and will keep all the promises.” For the time being
we must accept at face value the prime minister’s stated intention
to keep his campaign promises to the Javakhayer.
However, given the present situation in Georgia where power is vested
in two opposing leaders-Prime Minister Ivanishvili of the GDP and
President Mikhail Saakashvili of the National Movement Party (NMP)-the
prospect for change at this early stage is problematic. President
Saakashvili is a formidable opponent. He still retains considerable
support among the Georgian electorate, and is favored by the United
States and Western Europe for his pro-western stance. If the prime
minister moves too quickly in renewing ties with Russia or enacting the
promised changes for Javakhk, he can expect to be met head-on by the
opposition. The presidential election in 2013 should be an important
test for the present administration. A victory by Saakashvili would
stiffen his party’s opposition to any significant proposed initiatives
that may run counter to policies and programs established during
the his eight years in office. A resounding victory could place the
prime minister’s foreign and domestic agenda (especially with respect
to Javakhk) in jeopardy. A Saakashvili victory could also limit the
degree of cooperation the Georgian Orthodox Church might be willing
to extend the prime minister in resolving the issue of ownership and
rehabilitation of Armenian Church property. Until now, Georgian Church
leaders have been intransigent in their dealings with representatives
of the Armenian Church in Georgia.
Having said that, the 2012 parliamentary election represented a seismic
shift in Georgian politics. Seismic because Ivanishvili has indicated
a willingness to consider issues and implement initiatives that: 1)
are beneficial to the Javakhk Armenians; 2) will expand and intensify
economic ties with Yerevan; 3) will encourage dialogue concerning
ownership of Armenian religious property contested by the Georgian
Orthodox Church; and 4) will seek to improve Georgian-Russian relations
(which should benefit Armenia).
In a polarizing and extremely contentious campaign, Ivanishvili’s
GDP received about 54 percent of the vote, with Saakashvili’s UNM
(United National Movement) garnering the balance of the vote. No other
party reached the five percent threshold. As a result, the 150-member
parliament is represented either by the GDP or the UNM. The relation
between the two parties is acrimonious at best, and on many significant
issues they hold opposing views. It can be expected that President
Saakashvili’s NMP will vote en bloc in opposing or curtailing the
intent of legislation important to the Javakhk Armenians. Xenophobia
still remains a potent force within the Georgian government.
During his visit to Armenia, the prime minister said that he expected
the railway from Russia to Armenia via Abkhazia and Georgia to reopen.
This is a 180-degree turn from Saakashvili’s policy, which held
the opening of the railway hostage to a Russian-Georgian dialogue
concerning the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This policy
placed an added burden on the already fragile Armenian economy.
Coincidentally, a representative of the Armenian community in Abkhazia,
Galust Trapizonian, lent his voice to the need to reopen the railway
to Armenia. Although its opening is important to Armenia’s economy,
it is of greater importance to Russia’s geostrategic interest in
strengthening its presence in the south Caucasus. Mentioning the
likelihood of its reopening is a major initiative by Prime Minister
Ivanishvili that heralds the intent to reinstate a pro-Russian
orientation while continuing Georgia’s policy of developing closer
ties with Europe.
During his visit, the prime minister touched upon two principal areas
of concern that are vital to the Javakhk Armenians: their ability
to educate their children as Armenians, and the opportunity to be
effectively integrated in the socioeconomic and political life of
Georgia. He agreed that the history of the Armenian people should be
taught in the Armenian schools and that a project would be set up
to achieve that objective. What is meant by “setting up a project”
and agreeing on material that serves the needs of Armenian school
children, while not denigrating Georgian history, is to be determined.
Related issues include the teaching and use of the Armenian language
in public documents, the ability of teachers to participate in
professional meetings in Armenia, allowing in-service courses for
teachers in Javakhk, and the right to have supplies and equipment
for Armenian schools enter Georgia unimpeded.
The need for socio-economic and political integration is another vital
objective that will not be easy to achieve, even with Ivanishvili’s
support. Integrating an ethnic minority could be a hard sell,
especially in view of the many ethnic Georgians who have not
benefitted from the economic development that has taken place during
the eight years of President Saakashvili’s administration Also,
for many Georgians, sandwiched as their country is between Russia
and Armenia, the Russian-Armenian relationship is viewed with some
concern. Georgians are fully aware as to what happened with respect
to their Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions and the de facto
independence of the Artsakh-Armenians in neighboring Azerbaijan. How
much demagoguery is required to tap into the latent concerns of
ethnic Georgians that their Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which shares
a common border with Armenia, could face a similar fate? President
Saakashvili and the NMP can be expected to allude to this possibility
or even suggest that legislation beneficial to Armenians comes at a
cost to economically overlooked ethnic Georgians. While these fears
are unfounded, it would not prevent Saakashvili’s NMP from using
such tactics. Both Russia and the Armenians in Georgia are obvious
targets to attack and weaken Prime Minister Ivanishvili’s domestic
and foreign agenda, and his popularity.
Vahagn Chakhalyan’s from prison followed, by several weeks, the
release of Armenian activists Armen Gevorgyan and Ruben Shekoyan. His
delay was the result of pressure by Saakashvili supporters to exclude
Chakhalyan’s name from the list of eligible political prisoners.
Chakhalyan’s release generated a fusillade of condemnation by members
of the opposition NMP that can best be described as vehement and
demagogic. At the time of his arrest on July 21, 2008, Chakhalyan was
the leader of the United Javakhk Democratic Alliance. The reason for
his arrest, the constraints placed on his right to defend himself,
and the rampant judicial misconduct during the months of his trial
guaranteed his conviction. Saakashvili’s policy was to view any
activism as a prelude to more serious challenges to the country’s
spatial integrity, especially with respect to the Javakhk Armenians
(see “Javakheti Activist Vahagn Chakhalyan: Justice Denied by Georgia,”
the Armenian Weekly, September 19, 2009).
The xenophobic mind-set that influences the Georgian politician
(and possibly a segment of the electorate) is deep-rooted, and an
unfortunate obstacle to developing a democratic society. Ivanishvili’s
promises to our brothers and sisters in Javakhk speak to an improved
quality of life that has been long delayed. However, at this point in
time little can be guaranteed. Both the prime minister and the Javakhk
Armenians have a determined adversary in Saakashvili and the NMP.
In what could be a significant breakthrough for the Armenian Church in
Georgia, in his meeting with the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin
II, the prime minister assured His Holiness that he would personally
monitor resolving the ownership of contested Armenian Church property.
A resolution to this long-running controversy would go a long way
toward improving the situation of Armenians in Georgia.
With respect to Armenia itself, the victory of the GDP and Ivanishvili
marks an opportunity to improve and expand economic ties between
the two countries. Armenian President Serge Sarkisian suggested the
creation of a common market that would be beneficial to both countries,
and the prime minister accepted in principle. However, any benefits
to be gained by greater cooperation between Armenia and Georgia or
the reopening of the railway should not end up lining the pockets of
the oligarchic dons who have hijacked the Armenian economy for their
personal gain.
For the Javakhk-Armenians, this is the first opportunity within the
past 100 years to achieve a better quality of life within their own
lands. The diaspora can do its part through its philanthropic and
humanitarian organizations by complementing Tbilisi’s initiatives. The
prime minister has a background as a very successful entrepreneur
and could be amenable to an entity cooperatively established by these
diasporan organizations, which would undertake various projects within
parameters acceptable to his administration. An improvement in the
quality of life for our people in Javakhk is absolutely necessary
to halt their continued out-migration. We can help by accelerating
the change promised by the prime minister. If the present situation
continues or change occurs at too slow a pace, Javakhk could be
irretrievably lost within the next 20-30 years. That is something we
cannot allow to happen.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/02/06/javakhks-prospects-for-a-new-beginning/
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