"Diversity is our strength" - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili

Theresa Freese 4/22/05

Recent protests by ethnic Armenians, Georgia's largest ethnic minority, against the closure of a Russian military base in the predominantly Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti have helped underscore the difficulties faced by the Saakashvili administration as it promotes inter-ethnic accord in the country. In a recent interview, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined the government's economic development plans for Samtskhe-Javakheti, and stressed that "diversity is our strength."

Armenians constitute almost 8 percent of Georgia's 4.5 million population – a statistic that has spurred demands by some Armenian community leaders for attention equal to that given Georgia's smaller Ossetian and Abkhaz minority populations. Most ethnic Armenians are concentrated in two areas – in and around Tbilisi and in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The over 113,000 in Samtskhe-Javakheti – most of them living in two districts, Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki – comprise a majority of the remote and impoverished region's overall population. Some analysts suggest discontent among the so-called Javakheti Armenians could pose a potential threat to Georgia's goal of territorial integration. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Disputes over Russia's 62nd military base at Akhalkalaki, one of two Russsian military installations remaining on Georgian territory, drive much of the concerns. The base is located at the heart of the Javakheti-Armenian community and serves as the region's driving economic force. In March, Javakheti Armenians held demonstrations in Akhalkalaki to protest Georgia's demand that the base be closed, arguing that the Russian military presence provides them with both economic security and defense against Turkey, a traditional Armenian enemy. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The Armenian community in Tbilisi is not playing as large a role in opposing a quick Russian withdrawal.

Talks held on April 14-15 with Russian diplomats in Tbilisi failed to reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable withdrawal timeline. Each side has blamed the other for the failure of the negotiations. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Saakashvili spoke to a EurasiaNet correspondent during a helicopter ride from Samtskhe-Javakheti to Tbilisi. He had traveled to Borjomi, one of the six districts that comprise Samtskhe-Javakheti, where he had opened a new park. During the interview, Saakashvili said Georgia is promoting a "phased withdrawal" for the base with no concrete completion date – as long as the withdrawal starts immediately. He added, however, that the Russians are looking for a set timeframe around 2009, the date of Georgia's next presidential election. "Basically, they are waiting for the next Georgian election," Saakashvili said. "We say ‘OK' to 2009, but let's start now so [that] by the time of the elections most of the troops are gone."

Repeating earlier promises, Saakashvili stated that the government plans to make sure that the base's dissolution does not undermine the local employment climate. Saakashvili said that "formally" 3,000 Russians are stationed at the base, though he believed the real figure was much lower. Local employees, he added, number 340 ethnic Armenians, including soldiers. On top of this, a "few thousand" others are linked to the base by selling products to soldiers, including wheat, fuel, and spare parts.

"Everybody who serves there will be given a job locally," Saakashvili said. "If there are enough people locally, we won't bring others to the region. Every qualified soldier can stay.... Those who want to stay will keep their apartments. The base's infrastructure can be used for social infrastructure for the local population. We don't want to confiscate or sell it."

As part of an assistance program to aid the transition and spark small business development, Saakashvili said, long-term bank credits ranging from $3,000-$5,000 would be provided to individual contractors over the next 20 to 25 years.

The president also advocated dual citizenship for ethnic Armenians working on the Russian base who have taken on Russian citizenship, a proposal also made for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "They won't face discrimination," he stressed. Flights to Moscow, a bi-annual perk provided by Russia to base employees, would possibly be replaced by local bus trips or flights (pending restoration of Samtskhe-Javakheti's airport) to Tbilisi, he suggested.

But the base is only the tip of the iceberg for this isolated region. During a March 13 demonstration to preserve the base, Javakheti Armenians also called for roads to link Akhalkalaki with Armenia and the rest of Georgia, promotion of language and cultural rights, stronger local self government, improved energy access, and the establishment of a customs unit at the Armenia border. Saakashvili characterized the political ferment underpinning these demands as "normal" and said: "The local population has social demands and cultural demands. The state exists to give them assurances."

Although speculation has grown lately that problems associated with the Javakheti Armenians could develop into a "pre-conflict situation," Saakashvili downplayed the notion. "I don't think they will cause any problems," he said. "We should solve problems for them. They are our essence and should not be wasted."

To respond to the community's demands, Saakashvili said he is promoting an "incentives-based approach," that includes transferring some public services, such as the passport department, away from the regional seat at Akhaltsikhe to Akhalkalaki (a demand made by community leaders), and giving local government responsibility for budget management.

Road projects could prove a crucial variable for the success of this project, and in connecting this poverty-stricken region with the rest of Georgia. Georgian officials want to tap into the US-sponsored Millennium Challenge Account to fund a several-million-dollar project to repave the 320 kilometers of road linking the Armenian border region with Akhalkalaki, Tbilisi and Kars, Turkey. Work could begin on the project as early as September. However, observers say that could be years before work is completed.

"Resources are scarce and everything must be rebuilt," Saakashvili said. A prospective Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway line, which could further boost economic development, as well as regional integration, he termed a "more difficult" issue. Armenians believe that the route bypasses Armenia as part of Turkey's economic blockade of the country following Armenia's war with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "The Turks must do their part," he said, adding that Georgia has "strong interest in the railroad."

Language could prove a more difficult barrier to integration. Most Javakheti Armenians speak Russian before Armenian. Few are fluent in Georgian. Families choose between sending their children to Moscow or Yerevan – before Tbilisi – to receive a higher education. Many locals say that their inability to speak Georgian has prevented them from finding well-paying jobs.

Saakashvili conceded that the region is lacking in Georgian language specialists because few Georgians or Georgian-speaking and trained language teachers reside in or near Ninotsminda or Akhalkalaki. "We are trying to give them incentives to learn Georgian – not to force them," he said. In contrast to other ethnic minority groups in Georgia, including Ossetians and Abkhaz, Saakashvili said Javakheti Armenians are "enthusiastic" about learning Georgian.

Nonetheless, state-sanctioned protection of minority rights also feeds into the mix. "We need some kind of affirmative action," Saakashvili said. "[Minorities] should feel that their children have equal opportunities – that they are citizens of the country." As part of that message, the government has recently erected throughout Tbilisi billboards with the slogan "Celebrating Georgia's Diversity" in English, and with similar messages in Russian and Georgian. The Russian version states "Georgia is Our Motherland," while the Georgia translation reads "United We Stand."

In the end, Saakashvili believes, it could be just a matter of time for that message to become reality, as well as a matter of asserting Georgian statehood. "In 10 to 20 more years," he said, Samtskhe-Javakheti "will feel entirely integrated, and the former [Soviet] empire [will be] entirely gone."

Editor's Note: Theresa Freese is a freelance journalist and political analyst who has been conducting research on unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus since September 2003.

Posted April 22, 2005 © Eurasianet