Loyalty of Georgian authorities to Armenians: discrimination facts faced by Azerbaijanis - RESEARCH

Baku. 31 January. REPORT.AZ/ By the latest census held in Georgia in 2014, the number of Azerbaijanis living in this country reaches 233,000 people. Our compatriots constitute 6.3% of the population in the neighboring country, forming the largest national minority. Ethnic Armenians are the second largest ethnic minority in the country, numbering 168,100 and constituting 4.5% of the total population.

From this point of view, it would be logical to make a comparative analysis of the current situation, activity, unity and other aspects of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities in Georgia.

Report has studied the current state of the sociopolitical life of both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, based on the reports prepared by various local and international organizations on national minorities in Georgia.

Secondary and higher education

The Georgian government considers that availability of quality education and improvement of state language knowledge are two important tools for the integration process. According to the national legislation, all stages of education are available for ethnic minorities who are provided with the opportunity to study in their native languages - Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian.

By the information for 2017, Georgia accounted for 82 Azerbaijani, 118 Armenian and 11 Russian-speaking public schools. The number of schools with Azerbaijani divisions was 33.

According to figures published by the Center for Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia last September, there are 80 Azerbaijani schools in the country, while the number of schools with divisions in Azerbaijani language reaches 38. At the same time, Azerbaijani-language divisions were allowed in two private schools but it is yet unclear whether they function.

The current number of Armenian-language schools reaches 130. Over the past years the construction of new and modern secondary schools is mostly financed by the businessmen or companies from the local communities. All the educational facilities are headed by Armenians.

124 Azerbaijani schools functioned in Georgia in 2010. The decline in the number of educational institutions where our compatriots study in their native languages is basically associated with the following reasons:

1. Low quality of education;

2. School infrastructure fails to meet modern requirements, some schools, especially rural ones, are in a disastrous state;

3. Shortage of professional teaching staff.

The vast majority of teachers in Azerbaijani schools are those who are in the retirement age. Schools directors are mainly ethnic Georgians, while Azerbaijanis occupy this post in nearly 15 schools. At the beginning of each academic year, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Education sends textbooks 'Azerbaijani language' and 'Literature' for Azerbaijani schooldren in Georgia. In general, for the academic year 2018-2019, Azerbaijani schoolchildren in this country were provided with 24,127 textbooks in Azerbaijani language and Literature. But along with the teaching of Georgian language, the teaching of Azerbaijani language and literature is also not satisfactory. Teachers of technical or physical subjects also teach the Azerbaijani language and literature. Teachers of the Azerbaijan language and literature were trained by the Tbilisi State Pedagogical Institute named after A.S. Pushkin. Though this higher education institution was founded in 1935 as a technical school, it had gained a university status since 1946. There was also the specialty of the Azerbaijan language and literature. The high school was later merged by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University, and after a while by the Tbilisi State University named after Ilya Chavchavadze. The Azerbaijani Language and Literature Faculty was abolished in the process of merging. At present, there is no such faculty in any of the Georgian universities.

There is no university or branch of high school in Kvemo Kartli, where the Azerbaijanis live compactly. Though the Georgian-Azerbaijani Educational University named after Heydar Aliyev was established in Marneuli in 2008, its license was revoked in 2015.

Local  intellectuals and public representatives make proposals at various meetings regarding the opening of branches of Georgian and Azerbaijani Universities in Marneuli. But no significant work has been done in this direction till today.

However, there is the state university in the Samtskhe Javakheti region, where Armenians live compactly. The university was established in 1990 as the Akhalkalaki branch of the Tbilisi State University, Ivane Javakhashvili. In 2014, the branch was officially registered as Samtskhe Javakheti State University. The education is carried out on bachelor, master and doctorate degrees on humanitarian, technical, business and other fields.

788 local Azerbaijani applicants were admitted to Georgian universities in the 2018-2019 academic year. Young people entered the universities on the program "1 + 4" envisaged for national minorities. The program was launched in 2010-2011 academic year. According to the program, applicants take an exam on the general knowledge of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Ossetian languages. Students admitted to  the universities study the Georgian language for one year and then get the opportunity to study for bachelor degree on their specialty. At the end of the year, students who have a 60 credit score can continue their education at the faculty they want without an exam.

Unemployment is the main problem for thousands of Azerbaijani youth graduating from the "1 + 4" program. More than 90% of them suffer from this problem. The program of probation at local and central state bodies is held for students representing national minorities. Due to the lack of vacancies or low salary, the vast majority of young people who complete the program are unable to find a job in the organization where they had training. There are no Azerbaijani citizens of Georgia among those who work in the leading or managing positions in public institutions and organizations after successfully completing education on this program.

NGO sector

There are about 50 NGOs in Georgia involving local Azerbaijanis, and most of them are centralized around Kvemo Kartli. 4-5 public organizations cannot operate effectively. Azerbaijani community is idle in this area and youth and intellectuals represented in NGOs are not very active. The main "activity direction" of the organizations is directed towards mutual accusations and campaigns against each other.

Armenians living in Georgia have nearly 70 public organizations. All of them are united under the name of the "Georgian Community of Armenians". These organizations are really functioning all the time in the directions of culture, youth, women, socio-economic directions in Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti regions. The head of the “Multinational Georgia” organization, where all the national minorities in Georgia are represented, is native Armenian Arnold Stepanyan.

Armenian NGOs are actively involved in local and international grant competitions held for such organizations in Georgia, and they can jointly implement a number of projects aimed at the community's future through competitions.

Azerbaijani NGOs are either unaware of these competitions or do not meet requirements in knowledge or experience for the participation.

Armenian NGOs are regularly involved in activities in the interests of the Armenian state. Every year, the Armenian community is organizing a protest action outside the Turkish Embassy in Georgia, as well as rallies in the Tbilisi and Samtskhe Javakheti region on the occasion of the anniversary of the so-called "Armenian genocide". They have repeatedly appealed to the Georgian Parliament for the recognition of the so-called 'genocide'' on the behalf of NGOs.

While discussing the submission of any issue that concerns the Azerbaijani community, to the government or the parliament, the signature collection stage is either not held or the required number of signatures is not collected after which the initiators are obliged to withdraw the signatures.

If we take a look at the Georgian segment of the Facebook social network, we would see a special activity of the Armenian community. A smeary campaign is staged every time when commemoration is held for the Azerbaijani regions occupied by Armenia and Khojaly genocide, and these posts are released as paid advertising. The Armenian Embassy in Georgia is also the the main driving force of such campaigns.