GEORGIA: CHALLENGES FACING ETHNIC ARMENIANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 000196 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2020 TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM AM GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: CHALLENGES FACING ETHNIC ARMENIANS REF: A. 09 TBILISI 2438 ¶B. 09 TBILISI 538 ¶C. 09 TBILISI 2106 ¶D. 09 YEREVAN 844 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4 (b) AND (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. New and expanding economic opportunities should serve to lessen the isolation of many of the 250,000 ethnic Armenians resident in Georgia, enabling them to branch out of their traditional region of Samtskhe-Javakheti and allowing younger ethnic Armenians to pursue their goals of higher education within the Georgian system (refs A and B). Armenian groups in Georgia report that travel for ethnic Armenians to and from Abkhazia is (unsurprisingly) difficult. The most contentious issues remain the inability of religious minority groups to register as an entity of public law (only the Georgian Orthodox Church has that right) as opposed to an NGO and the claims by the Armenian Diocese to a number of disputed churches. While the Georgian Orthodox Church continues to block, from behind the scenes, government movement on the registration issue (ref C),a joint commission on the ownership of the churches is seen as a possible means to resolve these disputes. Many hope that a possible meeting by the heads of the Armenian and Georgian churches in the spring will move contentious religious issues closer to a solution. This is a joint cable on the issue from Embassies Tbilisi and Yerevan. END SUMMARY. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ¶2. (C) Poloff, along with visiting Embassy Yerevan Poloff, met with contacts in Tbilisi December 14 and 15 to discuss the challenges facing the ethnic Armenian communities in Georgia. PolOffs met with local NGOs who work with ethnic minorities in Georgia, a priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) Diocese in Georgia, a professor of Armenian studies, and members of the GOG Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are responsible for Georgian-Armenian issues. The major topics of discussion were the historic churches claimed by both the AAC and the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the issue of religious equality for ethnic Armenians. ¶3. (C) According to the GOG,s 2002 census, there are approximately 250,000 ethnic Armenians in Georgia (5.7 percent of the population),the majority of whom live in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia along the Armenian border. Approximately 90,000 live in Tbilisi. The Samtskhe-Javakheti region remains relatively undeveloped due to many years of geographic isolation. Arnold Stepanian, Chairman of the Public Movement "Multinational Georgia" and ethnic Armenian himself, stated that ethnic Armenians are no worse off economically than Georgians in similarly isolated regions. This situation should improve due to the construction of a new major road (an MCC project) in the region which will allow the inhabitants to expand their economic integration with regions outside of Samtskhe-Javakheti. ¶4. (C) In the political arena, interlocutors claim ethnic Armenians in Tbilisi are integrated into the political process, but those living in Samtskhe-Javakheti (S-J) are less so. In addition to their location, ethnic Armenians in S-J have trouble participating in the national political system because so few of them speak Georgian. Stepanian believes that the new road will encourage ethnic Armenians to integrate into broader Georgian society once they see the economic advantages of learning the Georgian language. The GOG recognizes the problem and is sending Georgian-language instructors to Samtskhe-Javakheti to aid in that integration (refs A and B). Stepanian pointed out that the ethnic Q(refs A and B). Stepanian pointed out that the ethnic Armenians in Tbilisi have accepted the reality that their options for higher education greatly increase by speaking Georgian. Students who wish to study at non-technical universities cannot be admitted without knowledge of Georgian. According to Stepanian, interest in speaking only Armenian has waned in Tbilisi as witnessed by the closing of five of the eight Armenian-language schools. ¶5. (C) Professor Lela Jejalava of Tbilisi State University is an Armenia expert and works as a mediator on religious tolerance issues. She argued that Georgian society has trouble fully accepting the ethnic Armenians (as well as other ethnic groups) because of Georgia,s history of fending off occupying forces. She argued that, while the Georgian people outwardly boast of their tolerance, they view minority religious groups -- at least subconsciously -- as agents of outside influence and objects of foreign political manipulation. And as the GOC is seen by many as an essential part of the national identity, those who disagree with or battle the GOC are enemies of the state. TBILISI 00000196 002 OF 003 ETHNIC ARMENIANS IN ABKHAZIA ¶6. (C) Estimates of the number of Armenians residing in the separatist region of Abkhazia range from 14 percent of the population to as much as a third. (Although precise numbers are unavailable, most estimates put the total population of Abkhazia around 200,000.) Stepanian, whose group maintains contacts in the region, claimed that the Government of Russia (GOR) was providing privileges to ethnic Armenians over ethnic Abkhaz and encouraging ethnic Armenians from Sochi and surrounding areas in Russia to settle in Abkhazia to increase their number. According to Stepanian, the ethnic Abkhaz, while more than happy to take Russian money to support the local economy and their separatist cause, are not actually friendly to their Russian neighbors, and the GOR believes it strengthens its support in the region to have a greater concentration of ethnic Armenians. ¶7. (C) Our interlocutors agreed that it is unfortunate that ethnic Armenians in Abkhazia face difficulties traveling between there and Armenia, through undisputed Georgia. Many ethnic Armenians travel through Russia and then by a circuitous route to Armenia. Some observers in Armenia seem to believe that it is also illegal to enter or leave Abkhazia via undisputed Georgia. Kakha Chitaia, Deputy Director in the European Deparment of the GOG Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified that any Georgian citizen, including ethnic Armenians from Abkhazia, can use the official Georgian checkpoints when leaving Abkhazia, and Armenian citizens can also do so as long as they have obtained the necessary permissions. (Note: Although the Georgian government does not restrict the right of its own citizens, including residents of Abkhazia, to cross the Abkhaz administrative boundary, the Abkhaz de facto authorities and Russian Border Guards have imposed strict limitations on movements across the boundary in both directions. It remains a violation of Georgian law for foreigners, including Armenian citizens, to enter Abkhazia from Russia. End note.) RELIGIOUS EQUALITY AND THE DISPUTED CHURCHES ¶8. (C) The issue of registration of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) and the dispute over a number of historical churches dominated the conversation in almost all meetings (ref D). The consensus was that many of the ongoing problems faced by the AAC in Georgia are caused by the growing conservatism of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) (ref C). Ethnocentrism and strong nationalism in the GOC leads it to oppose registration of religious minorities on a basis of equality to the GOC. The Georgia Orthodox Church uses its influence over the Georgian government to block any liberalization of government policies on these issues. Jejalava believes that the Patriarch of the GOC is open to conversation and closer relations with religious minorities, but conservative elements of the GOC prevent him from acting. Others, such as Stepanian, argue that the Georgian church as a whole is not yet ready to accommodate religious minorities' requests. ¶9. (C) Father Narek Kushyan, of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Diocese of Georgia, lamented the power of the GOC and stated that the GOG was prepared in the past to allow minorities to register their religious organizations on par with GOC registration, but that the GOC opposed the action. Based on his conversations with GOG officials, he raised the possibility of the GOG making a separate bi-lateral agreement with each religious organization as it had done with the GOC. On the subject of maintenance of the disputed churches, Fr. QOn the subject of maintenance of the disputed churches, Fr. Kushyan stated that the Armenian Church could not legally protect or restore those churches because (1) the GOG has legal title to the building and so maintenance is their responsibility and (2) ethnic Armenians could not obtain the necessary permits to do the work. However, it does not appear that the ethnic Armenian community has ever tried to obtain a permit to restore any of the disputed churches. The AAC completed their own restoration of an Armenian Apostolic Church in Tbilisi on January 10. ¶10. (C) Georgian contacts were in agreement that a joint commission composed of religious representatives, historians and scientists is a good means to resolve the issue of ownership of the disputed churches. Although they all said that the Armenian side refused to participate when this idea was raised last year, no one could say who actually turned down the offer. Fr. Kushyan said that the Armenian Diocese in Georgia is willing to join the commission and present historical records to prove their claims of ownership, but only to discuss those disputed churches outside of Tbilisi. Fr. Kushyan stated that the five churches in Tbilisi and one church in Akhaltsikhe are clearly Armenian and that they will not participate in any commission until that concession is made. Fr. Kushyan also doubted the fairness of any commission that would take place in Georgia. According to TBILISI 00000196 003 OF 003 Prof. Jejalava, the GOC Patriarch will invite the Catholicos, the head of the AAC, to Tbilisi after Easter in 2010 to discuss the idea of a joint commission. ¶11. (C) COMMENT. The growth of economic and higher education opportunities should lead to greater integration of ethnic Armenians into broader Georgian society, as they see the benefits of learning the Georgian language and participating in civil society. This integration could also ease the tensions over the ownership issue of the disputed churches as ethnic Armenians and ethnic Georgians recognize their joint heritage in buildings that have been used by both groups for hundreds of years and their joint responsibility to maintain those churches as part of Georgia's patrimony. A joint commission composed of all interested parties may be the best option to resolve the issue, and Embassy Yerevan and Embassy Tbilisi will continue to suggest this to the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church and the two governments. END COMMENT. BASS