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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001645
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL GG AM
SUBJECT: JAVAKHETI: AN ARMENIAN PERSPECTIVE
REF: TBILISI 3046
Classified By: CDA A. F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).
-------
SUMMARY
-------
¶1. (C) Georgia,s predominantly Armenian Samstkhe-Javakheti
(S-J) region periodically makes news in Armenia, colored by
the local perception here that Georgians treat their Armenian
minority shabbily. Armenian government officials have not
generally complained on this theme, but others, including the
governing-coalition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
"Dashnaktsutyun" party, bemoan what they view as Georgian
neglect of the impoverished and isolated community. Working
together, Yerevan and Tbilisi poloffs recently interviewed
the ARF, an Armenian-based Javakheti advocacy group, and
local analysts to assess the issue from a Yerevan
perspective. END SUMMARY.
---------------------------------------------
RUN-OF-THE-MILL POVERTY OR POLITICAL NEGLECT?
---------------------------------------------
¶2. (C) Though our interlocutors assigned varying degrees of
blame to the Georgian government for the socio-economic
problems that plague S-J, none let the GOG completely off the
hook. Giro Manoyan, a member of the nationalist ARF's party
secretariat (or "Buro") said that while the Armenian
SIPDIS
community,s situation has improved under President
Saakashvili, conditions in S-J remain worse than that of
other poor, but ethnically Georgian, regions. He stopped
short of accusing the Georgians of politically motivated
neglect, and noted that the GOG is beginning to pay attention
to the roads out of S-J, thanks to Georgia's Millennium
Challenge Account. Manoyan said he believed the road would
jump-start the region's revitalization, and that he hoped the
next such project would be a joint Armenian-Georgian venture.
Up until now, the roads' poor condition prevented S-J
residents from selling goods in Tbilisi, a situation that
exacerbated regional poverty in an area without industry,
guaranteed electricity or viable infrastructure.
¶3. (C) Shirak Torosian, the S-J-born chairman of the Javakh
Union of Compatriots and a member of the Armenian
pro-government Powerful Fatherland party, was less measured
in his criticism of the GOG. "Nobody wants to help,"
Torosian said. "It's political that infrastructure is not
guaranteed for Javakheti." Torosian went further than
Manoyan on the issue of autonomy, too. At first he said that
he and his organization did not advocate autonomy for the
region, but then noted that the oft-touted
"self-determination" for S-J was really the same thing as
autonomy. He said he avoided the word "autonomy" in public
because it tended to raise Georgian and Western ire.
¶4. (C) Anna Mnatsakanian from the Armenian Relief Society, a
Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated social welfare organization that
works in S-J, said she did not think the region's problems
were worse than those of similarly poor areas elsewhere in
Georgia. She thought the Saakashvili administration did pay
attention to the region, but noted that infrastructure
problems were severe. She said that in the winter of 2005,
three children died of the flu because there was no ambulance
service in their S-J village. S-J.
--------------------------------------------- -------
SHOULD SAMSTKHE-JAVAKHETI RESIDENTS STAY IN GEORGIA?
--------------------------------------------- -------
¶5. (C) Both Torosian and Manoyan were adamant that it is in
Armenia,s interest for S-J residents to stay put, if only to
prevent others from moving in. Both raised the specter of
Turkish atrocities past, and fretted over the idea that
Meshkhetian Turks or ethnic Azeris might expand into the
region if ethnic Armenians migrated south, which would put
unfriendly faces at one of Armenia,s two remaining friendly
borders.
¶6. (C) Torosian said ethnically Armenian S-J residents are
tied to Georgia only by virtue of employment. He said they
consider themselves Armenian, and consider where they live to
be somehow part of Armenia, but look to Tbilisi for
opportunities to earn a living. That said, Torosian said
their ties to Armenia are stronger and more compelling. For
example, although the proposed Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad
will help S-J economically, Torosian said the ethnic
Armenians there did not support the project because it
bypassed Armenia. (COMMENT: It,s also possible that this is
YEREVAN 00001645 002 OF 002
just what Yerevantsi prefer to believe their kindred up north
think. END COMMENT.) He said that although he would like
the Armenians to stay in S-J, the Georgians were trying to
force them out by refusing to help solve their problems.
¶7. (C) Manoyan said he encouraged reluctant S-J residents to
learn Georgian so they could obtain an education and
participate in politics. "I'm not sure they want to learn
Georgian," Manoyan said, adding that the residents feared
losing their Armenian identity because they knew the GOG
tended to try to assimilate national minorities, rather than
integrate them. He said the GOG should be understanding of
the complexities of introducing Georgian as a state language
in such an isolated and underdeveloped region.
--------------------
GOAM STAYS OUT OF IT
--------------------
¶8. (C) Though NGOs and individual political parties are
concerned with the region's problems, the Armenian government
is staying out of it. Vartan Hakobian, head of the MFA's CIS
desk, told us that the government views S-J as a strictly
domestic Georgian concern, not a bilateral issue.
¶9. (C) Earlier in the summer, a working group of NGOs and
others met to discuss Armenia-Georgia issues, focusing in
large part on S-J. After the meetings, Hranush Kharatian,
head of the GOAM's national minorities department, told
reporters at a press conference, "The result of discussion of
problems accumulated in Javahk at the state level would be
higher than at the level of experts and NGOs, but we have
problems and they need to be discussed."
----------------------
BUT THE PRESS DOES NOT
----------------------
¶10. (U) Javakheti schools were a hot topic in the Armenian
press this summer, and continue to make news into the fall.
Newspapers have complained that ethnic Armenians have less
chance of gaining admission to the Akhalkalaki branch of
Tbilisi State University, because of their Georgian language
deficiencies. Javakheti activist Torosian was featured in
one article published in the Russian-language Regnum news
service in June regarding the language battle. Torosian
railed against the Georgian requirement that all classes,
save Armenian language and Armenian history, be taught in
Georgian. The author of the article succinctly described the
Javakheti dilemma, writing, "Of course, he who does not want
to sell potatoes in Javakh should learn Georgian to be able
to integrate into Georgian society and to work in Georgian
governmental structures."
-------
COMMENT
-------
¶11. (C) Barring any sudden crisis, Samstkhe-Javakheti seems
unlikely to become a major political issue for the GOAM any
time soon because the problem is not pressing, and boxed-in
Armenia knows it must maintain working relations with its
northern neighbor (and closest outlet to the sea). Though
Armenian NGOs and political parties are concerned about the
welfare of their compatriots in Georgia, their level of
involvement in the region does not get far beyond a lot of
talk, and a little welfare assistance. However, the S-J
situation is among other, more pressing factors -- such as
Georgia,s friendly relations with Azerbaijan, and the
fallout of its fracas with Russia -- that contribute to
Armenians, general dissatisfaction with Georgia. It likely
would not take all that much to arouse Armenian indignation
on the subject should events turn sour.
GODFREY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001645
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL GG AM
SUBJECT: JAVAKHETI: AN ARMENIAN PERSPECTIVE
REF: TBILISI 3046
Classified By: CDA A. F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).
-------
SUMMARY
-------
¶1. (C) Georgia,s predominantly Armenian Samstkhe-Javakheti
(S-J) region periodically makes news in Armenia, colored by
the local perception here that Georgians treat their Armenian
minority shabbily. Armenian government officials have not
generally complained on this theme, but others, including the
governing-coalition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
"Dashnaktsutyun" party, bemoan what they view as Georgian
neglect of the impoverished and isolated community. Working
together, Yerevan and Tbilisi poloffs recently interviewed
the ARF, an Armenian-based Javakheti advocacy group, and
local analysts to assess the issue from a Yerevan
perspective. END SUMMARY.
---------------------------------------------
RUN-OF-THE-MILL POVERTY OR POLITICAL NEGLECT?
---------------------------------------------
¶2. (C) Though our interlocutors assigned varying degrees of
blame to the Georgian government for the socio-economic
problems that plague S-J, none let the GOG completely off the
hook. Giro Manoyan, a member of the nationalist ARF's party
secretariat (or "Buro") said that while the Armenian
SIPDIS
community,s situation has improved under President
Saakashvili, conditions in S-J remain worse than that of
other poor, but ethnically Georgian, regions. He stopped
short of accusing the Georgians of politically motivated
neglect, and noted that the GOG is beginning to pay attention
to the roads out of S-J, thanks to Georgia's Millennium
Challenge Account. Manoyan said he believed the road would
jump-start the region's revitalization, and that he hoped the
next such project would be a joint Armenian-Georgian venture.
Up until now, the roads' poor condition prevented S-J
residents from selling goods in Tbilisi, a situation that
exacerbated regional poverty in an area without industry,
guaranteed electricity or viable infrastructure.
¶3. (C) Shirak Torosian, the S-J-born chairman of the Javakh
Union of Compatriots and a member of the Armenian
pro-government Powerful Fatherland party, was less measured
in his criticism of the GOG. "Nobody wants to help,"
Torosian said. "It's political that infrastructure is not
guaranteed for Javakheti." Torosian went further than
Manoyan on the issue of autonomy, too. At first he said that
he and his organization did not advocate autonomy for the
region, but then noted that the oft-touted
"self-determination" for S-J was really the same thing as
autonomy. He said he avoided the word "autonomy" in public
because it tended to raise Georgian and Western ire.
¶4. (C) Anna Mnatsakanian from the Armenian Relief Society, a
Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated social welfare organization that
works in S-J, said she did not think the region's problems
were worse than those of similarly poor areas elsewhere in
Georgia. She thought the Saakashvili administration did pay
attention to the region, but noted that infrastructure
problems were severe. She said that in the winter of 2005,
three children died of the flu because there was no ambulance
service in their S-J village. S-J.
--------------------------------------------- -------
SHOULD SAMSTKHE-JAVAKHETI RESIDENTS STAY IN GEORGIA?
--------------------------------------------- -------
¶5. (C) Both Torosian and Manoyan were adamant that it is in
Armenia,s interest for S-J residents to stay put, if only to
prevent others from moving in. Both raised the specter of
Turkish atrocities past, and fretted over the idea that
Meshkhetian Turks or ethnic Azeris might expand into the
region if ethnic Armenians migrated south, which would put
unfriendly faces at one of Armenia,s two remaining friendly
borders.
¶6. (C) Torosian said ethnically Armenian S-J residents are
tied to Georgia only by virtue of employment. He said they
consider themselves Armenian, and consider where they live to
be somehow part of Armenia, but look to Tbilisi for
opportunities to earn a living. That said, Torosian said
their ties to Armenia are stronger and more compelling. For
example, although the proposed Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad
will help S-J economically, Torosian said the ethnic
Armenians there did not support the project because it
bypassed Armenia. (COMMENT: It,s also possible that this is
YEREVAN 00001645 002 OF 002
just what Yerevantsi prefer to believe their kindred up north
think. END COMMENT.) He said that although he would like
the Armenians to stay in S-J, the Georgians were trying to
force them out by refusing to help solve their problems.
¶7. (C) Manoyan said he encouraged reluctant S-J residents to
learn Georgian so they could obtain an education and
participate in politics. "I'm not sure they want to learn
Georgian," Manoyan said, adding that the residents feared
losing their Armenian identity because they knew the GOG
tended to try to assimilate national minorities, rather than
integrate them. He said the GOG should be understanding of
the complexities of introducing Georgian as a state language
in such an isolated and underdeveloped region.
--------------------
GOAM STAYS OUT OF IT
--------------------
¶8. (C) Though NGOs and individual political parties are
concerned with the region's problems, the Armenian government
is staying out of it. Vartan Hakobian, head of the MFA's CIS
desk, told us that the government views S-J as a strictly
domestic Georgian concern, not a bilateral issue.
¶9. (C) Earlier in the summer, a working group of NGOs and
others met to discuss Armenia-Georgia issues, focusing in
large part on S-J. After the meetings, Hranush Kharatian,
head of the GOAM's national minorities department, told
reporters at a press conference, "The result of discussion of
problems accumulated in Javahk at the state level would be
higher than at the level of experts and NGOs, but we have
problems and they need to be discussed."
----------------------
BUT THE PRESS DOES NOT
----------------------
¶10. (U) Javakheti schools were a hot topic in the Armenian
press this summer, and continue to make news into the fall.
Newspapers have complained that ethnic Armenians have less
chance of gaining admission to the Akhalkalaki branch of
Tbilisi State University, because of their Georgian language
deficiencies. Javakheti activist Torosian was featured in
one article published in the Russian-language Regnum news
service in June regarding the language battle. Torosian
railed against the Georgian requirement that all classes,
save Armenian language and Armenian history, be taught in
Georgian. The author of the article succinctly described the
Javakheti dilemma, writing, "Of course, he who does not want
to sell potatoes in Javakh should learn Georgian to be able
to integrate into Georgian society and to work in Georgian
governmental structures."
-------
COMMENT
-------
¶11. (C) Barring any sudden crisis, Samstkhe-Javakheti seems
unlikely to become a major political issue for the GOAM any
time soon because the problem is not pressing, and boxed-in
Armenia knows it must maintain working relations with its
northern neighbor (and closest outlet to the sea). Though
Armenian NGOs and political parties are concerned about the
welfare of their compatriots in Georgia, their level of
involvement in the region does not get far beyond a lot of
talk, and a little welfare assistance. However, the S-J
situation is among other, more pressing factors -- such as
Georgia,s friendly relations with Azerbaijan, and the
fallout of its fracas with Russia -- that contribute to
Armenians, general dissatisfaction with Georgia. It likely
would not take all that much to arouse Armenian indignation
on the subject should events turn sour.
GODFREY
Comment