“ARMENIAN REVOLUTION” IN GEORGIA?

The Tbilisi nationalists say the political crisis of the country is connected with the “doings of Armenians”.

Certain forces try to give to the confrontation between the authorities and oppositions taking place these days in Tbilisi a national color and make Armenians guilty for the crisis. The President Eduard Shevardnadze has never said he shared this opinion but at the same time he did not try to prevent the speculations with the ethnical origins of his political rivals.

November 12, 2003

PanARMENIAN.Net - The subject of the “Armenian plot” is being elaborated by the Georgian nationalists for a long time. Some pro-governmental politics try to convince that Armenians are guilty for everything taking place in Georgia. This is a very dangerous symptom which causes some unpleasant associations. The events taking place now in Tbilisi reminds us about Germany of the beginnings of 30ies when the Nazis started to get prepared for the Jewish invasions. Why did Armenians appear in the center of the attention of Georgian chauvinists? This is what the Vice-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, leader of the Socialist party Vakhtang Rcheulishvili says: “It should be taken into account that Armenians undertook the functions of developing the capitalism in Georgia, they founded productions, constructed districts. Armenians have always been the beginners of economic reforms in the country. This is maybe the reason for a certain antagonism towards the Armenians”.

From the words of the leader of Georgian socialists it can be understand that that Armenians have done a lot for Georgians. However, it is not clear why Rcheushvili does not condemn the discrimination towards the Armenian minority. We shall note that once he blamed the ex-speaker of the parliament Zurab Zhvania for having Armenian origins. The representatives of Labor party which is closer to the government than to the opposition also think that Armenian origins are a “sin”. One of the leaders of the party said recently that “Sahakashvili, Zhvania and Burjanadze have made an Armenian revolution in Georgia”.

But can a person which is ashamed of his Armenian origins, be considered Armenian? Probably, it was because of such psychological problems that Mikhail Sahakashvili ignored the Armenians electorate of 400 thousand Armenians. However, he did not get more votes, and Armenians more willingly voted for a “pure” Georgian, Jumber Patiashvili. But in Tbilisi they tried to discredit Patiashvili. Somebody started to spread rumors that Patiashvili had agreed with those who spoke about the “Armenian revolution”. “I could not have agreed with such a stupidity,” Patiashvili said, “I love and will always love the Armenian people. I consider myself a friend of Armenians and I am against any statements that contain anti-Armenian motives…” Fortunately, in Georgia there are still lot of people able to say this kind of things…

It is difficult to say, if this period will be considered by historians “a result of Armenian revolution?” We shall note, however, that no serious historian would assume to say that the bloody epoch of governing of Iosif Jughashvili and Lavrenti Beria the result of “Georgian revolution”.