World problem in Georgia

According to the 2014 census, out of 233,024 Azerbaijanis in Georgia, 177,032 people lived in the Kvemo-Kartli region (41.75%). In the Marneuli (83.8%), Dmanisi (65.5%), Bolnisi (63.4%) municipalities, Azerbaijanis constitute the absolute majority of the population and in Gardabani (43.5%). In general, Azerbaijanis make up 6.5% of the population of Georgia and are by far the largest of the communities. Despite some tensions in the 1980s, it never came to armed conflict. After the declaration of independence in 1991, many Azerbaijanis faced the problem of integration into Georgian society, but most of the rural population does not speak the official language, which complicates the participation of Azerbaijanis in many social spheres and politics.

In 2005, at a meeting with the Ombudsman, representatives of the Azerbaijani community reported violations of citizens' rights, in particular, the use of firearms by the police against the population, humiliation of human dignity at customs checkpoints, and disregard for Azerbaijanis' appeals by state bodies. Society "Tolerance" in an alternative report on Georgia's implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities reported a sharp reduction in the number of Azerbaijani schools and the appointment of principals in some of them who do not speak Azerbaijani. A 2009 report by the European Center for Minority Affairs noted that under Shevardnadze's rule (1995-2003), all district heads in Kvemo Kartli were Georgians (as opposed to Javakheti, where these posts were held by Armenians). Almost all other high posts at the district level were also held by Georgians. Most of the land was leased out on the principle of close ties with the leadership of the local administration.

It was also noted that in schools with teaching in the Azerbaijani language, the Georgian language was studied for one hour a week, until the Azerbaijanis themselves proposed to introduce the study of the Georgian language every day for one hour, to open additional courses, multilingual schools, etc. The situation has changed after coming of M. Saakashvili, whose electorate has always been the majority of Azerbaijanis.

The Svans speak their own language and, according to the 1926 census, they were considered a separate ethnic group, but in subsequent census, they were included in the Georgians. According to various estimates, the population in Svaneti ranges from 14,000 to 30,000 people. The Svans are parishioners of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and they speak Georgian on an equal basis with their own.

The history of their resettlement to the Kvemo-Kartli region (2500 families) is associated with a continuous one and a half month snowfall in 1987 and avalanches.

“From 1981 to the present [2006], about 11,000 families (about 60,000 people) have been resettled under the state placement program, mainly from the highlands of Adjara and Svaneti. During this period, due to the surplus population and lack of land in their home regions, an unknown number of migrants, mainly from Adjara, moved independently to different parts of Georgia. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the main regions receiving eco-migrants were Kakheti, Imereti, Samegrelo, Shida Kartli, Guria, Samtskhe and Javakheti. Later, from the second half of the 1990s, migrants were mainly received by Kvemo Kartli” - 2006 Annual Report of the Ministry of Refugees and Resettlement.

According to media reports, in Dmanisi (until 1947 - Bashkechid), for the second day (from 16.05.21), riots continue and clashes occur between Azerbaijanis and Georgians.

The conflict between ethnic Azerbaijanis and migrants from Svaneti in Dmanisi, which then escalated into a bloody showdown with the use of baseball bats and other improvised means, erupted after the Azerbaijani shop owner refused to lend beer to the Svans. In response, the Svans attacked and destroyed the store. According to another similar version, the reason for the confrontation was the refusal of the saleswoman of one of the local grocery stores to sell alcoholic drinks to young people on credit. According to the woman, disgruntled buyers showered her with foul language, and her father, who tried to protect his daughter, was hit on the head by these people. On Monday morning, riots broke out throughout the city and involved hundreds of people. The Azerbaijanis went to the streets in the morning demanding an apology and punishment for those who had organized a mass brawl and destroyed the store. Some of the young people, armed with clubs, threatened to destroy the houses of the Svans.

The police have already identified the participants in the conflict. They were interrogated almost all night at the local police station. The fact is under investigation under the Article of violence. The protesters gathered outside the local police building demanding the release of their fellow citizens detained during the riots. Governor of Kvemo Kartli arrived in Dmanisi.

In connection with the incident, MP Gogi Meshveliani urged not to politicize the incident, believing that this is a domestic conflict. The leader of the opposition party "Strategy of Agmashenebeli" Giorgi Vashadze, demands that the police take timely measures and act promptly to reconcile the parties and peaceful resolution of the conflict.  Vashadze noted that indifference towards one's own population is unacceptable and called on the opposing sides to remain calm so as "not to contribute to the artificial escalation of the conflict on the ground into interethnic confrontation." The chairman of the parliamentary committee on procedural issues, Irakli Kadagishvili, believes that the law should be strictly applied to all participants in the confrontation in Dmanisi, regardless of nationality, since in this case all are citizens of Georgia.

No matter how events develop in the future, it is clear that their causes are not fully determined publicly. Even before the conflict, the leading Georgian newspaper “Saerto Gazeti” (“Common Newspaper”) published an article by Elbrus Mammadov “Who and How in Georgia Works against the Interests of Georgia” (30.04.21), dedicated to the analysis of Azerbaijani-Georgian relations and identifying the forces that interfere with them.

In particular, the author reflects on the topic of what forces are trying to drive a wedge between the two countries, through cheap provocations and with obvious foreign participation, to destroy the trilateral regional partnership Tbilisi-Baku-Ankara.

According to the author, everything is used: speculation about the monastery, which in Georgia is called David Gareji, and in Azerbaijan - Keshikchidag, and the situation in Kvemo Kartli, where Azerbaijanis live compactly, and outright speculation and false information. Thus, there have been attempts to accuse the Azerbaijanis of Georgia of the spread of the coronavirus. Outright provocations like those that are engaged, for example, by the Labor Party of Shalva Natelashvili - with "marches" to the monastery walls, insulting shouts, "bullying" of Azerbaijani border guards. The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party holds rallies, where it calls Azerbaijan an "occupying country." The Georgian March, a neo-Nazi organization that regularly organizes anti-Azerbaijani provocations in Georgia, as it was established by employees of the Georgian branch of Transparency International, receives financial support from Russia, so their actions are too obviously built into the “Russian” agenda. The efforts of the "Alliance of Patriots of Georgia" are indicative, which demand from official Tbilisi as an ultimatum to curtail the process of integration with NATO and the European Union and restore relations with Russia. The author notes that parties, movements and media are particularly active in anti-Azerbaijani actions, which closely cooperate with the Russian structures operating in Georgia - the Primakov Foundation and the Gorchakov Foundation, which is officially supervised by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Summing up, E. Mammadov writes, “And this should already become information for thought for the Georgian audience. To know and understand who conducts the fake anti-Azerbaijani "choir" in Tbilisi and who orders the tune. "

Indeed, conflicts are most often used by external forces to pursue their own interests, so it is extremely important to localize any conflict, not allowing it to develop into a regional and international problem. Each state should show greater consistency and transparency in its activities. At the same time, do not avoid direct dialogue with society, especially with its organized civil sector. Indeed, it is in this environment that the most in-depth studies of the state of society and its problems appear. This is confirmed by the material that officials could have drawn attention to almost 15 years ago:

About the relationship between eco-migrants and the local population of Kvemo-Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti - regions densely populated by people of non-Georgian nationality. Samtskhe-Javakheti - especially the Javakheti region (Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda regions) - is predominantly populated by Armenians. “In three districts of Kvemo Kartli - (Marneuli, Dmanisi and Bolnisi) - the Azerbaijani population dominates, and the Tsalka region is inhabited by Armenians, Georgians and Greeks. In regions where national minorities live compactly, the wave of migrants often causes tension. Emigrants, being unfamiliar with local customs, often face serious problems, a feeling of distrust and suspicion of new settlers arises. Accordingly, strained relations are established between the locals and the newcomers. ”- Based on the materials of Tom Trier, Medea Turashvili. Resettlement of people displaced for environmental reasons: solving existing problems or creating a new one. Eco-migration in Georgia 1981-2006, Tbilisi, 2007, p. 6.

Let us repeat once again:  covering the current confrontation in Dmanisi, we must understand that interethnic relations are a permanent problem of any multinational state, which they do not like to write about in the country itself, and therefore many external players from the fields of science, politics and the media are willingl