10.2006 - Source: European Centre for Minority Issues

There are 5.69% Armenians in Georgia; they are concentrated in the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda district, where they make up 94.3% and 95.8% of the population; 90% belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church ("Implementing the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities in Georgia: A Feasibility Study") [ID 18145]

"According to the 2002 census, there are 248,929 Armenians in Georgia, or 5.69% of the population. This marks a sharp fall in the population from the 1989 Census, when 437,211 Armenians were recorded. The Armenian population is concentrated in the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts of Samtskhe-Javakheti, where respectively they make up 94.3% and 95.8% of the population. According to the 2002 census, Armenians make up 54.6% of the population of Tsalka district, although this is probably an exaggeration because there are a large number of Georgians migrants from Adjara and Svaneti who are not registered. In addition, there are a large number of Armenians in Akhaltslikhe district (36.6% of the population). Finally, according to the 2002 census there are 82,586 Armenians in Tbilisi, making up 7.6% of the city’s population. Around 90% of Georgia’s Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, while around 10% are Roman Catholics. Most Armenian Catholics live in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsmida districts. The Armenian language belongs to its own distinct group within the Indo-European family. In 2000, there were 183 Armenian schools in Georgia. are concentrated in the province of Samtskhe-Javakheti, especially in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts. There are two Armenian schools in Tbilisi, as well as five Armenian departments in other (mixed) schools. Many Armenian pupils also attend Russian schools; according to one Armenian community leader around 70% of pupils at Russian school in Tbilisi are ethnic Armenians. Of particular concern to the Armenian community is the need to preserve their language and culture. In recent years, the issue of disputed ownership of churches has become especially contentious, as representatives of the Armenian minority have accused the Georgian Orthodox Church of appropriating churches that should rightfully belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Another major issue, both for the state and for the Armenian population, is how to integrate the Armenian communities in Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda and Tsalka districts into Georgian civic and political life. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, these communities (like other more remote rural communities in Georgia) were largely neglected by the state and no serious attempt was made at integrating them through the teaching of the state language. 55 Most of these"

Document(s): Open document

17.07.2002 - Source: Minority Rights Group International

Minority Rights Group International: The most vibrant part of the Armenian community has emigrated. about 350,000 Armenians remain ("The South Caucasus: Nationalism, Conflict and Minorities") [#14648],  [ID 5032]

"Armenians are the largest minority in Georgia. In 1989 they numbered 437,200 (8.1 per cent), a substantial number of them concentrated in Tbilisi (over 150,000 or 12 per cent of the city’s population). Now, the most vibrant part of the community has emigrated and about 350,000 Armenians remain.51 They have lost most of their economic and political significance in the capital. Outside the capital, the Armenians are concentrated in Javakheti, a remote southern region of Georgia, bordering Turkey and Armenia, where Armenians constitute nearly 95 per cent.52 It currently forms a part of the Samtskhe- Javakheti province, Samtskhe being a mixed Georgian- Armenian area. Javakheti itself consists of two districts – Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda. Many Armenians currently living in Javakheti are the descendants of those who arrived in the region fleeing Ottoman persecution.53 Perceptions of a ‘Turkish threat’,
the high degree of group cohesion and the distinct identity of a mountain people remain strong. In Soviet times, the region was closed to outsiders. Because of its significance for security, social and economic development was
artificially maintained at a level above the national average. In the 1990s, these industries have mostly collapsed and currently it is difficult to sustain a livelihood. Historical and cultural factors contribute to a sense of insularity, exclusive ethnic identity and suspicion of outsiders. They are reinforced by an almost homogeneous ethnic composition, no knowledge of Georgian and poor communications with the rest of the country.54 A move to unite Javakheti with the low-lying territories of Samtskhe aroused resentment because it was interpreted as an attempt to make the region more ‘Georgian’. An
administrative centre was set up in Akhaltsikhe, a town poorly connected with Javakheti. Administrative reform, aimed at creating larger units, also caused resentment in other, more ethnically homogeneous regions of Georgia.55
The Javakheti Armenians are negative about the mainly Georgian composition of the provincial administration and the presence of numerous Tbilisi appointees.
The region has two political groupings, Javakh and Virk. Javakh was influential in the early 1990s and is reputed to have played a calming role during the rise of nationalism under Gamsakhurdia. Since then it has lost most of its influence.56 Virk is now a more credible political force.57 Virk advocates the administrative separation of Javakheti from Samtskhe, and the formation of an autonomous Javakheti within Georgia.58 Autonomy is regarded as a
security guarantee rather than a means of change. Virk applied to be registered as a political party in Georgia but was rejected. The authorities offered to register Virk as a social organization, but Virk declined.
Javakheti hosts the 62nd Russian base at Akhalkalaki. Close relations between the Russian military and the Armenians in Javakheti are regarded as a security threat by the Georgian majority. Tbilisi insists on withdrawal by 2004, while Russia would like to preserve the base until 2015. Russia views the base as essential to maintaining its own security in the volatile Caucasus region. Georgian units were supposed to replace the Russian troops along the Turkish border after their withdrawal in 1999, but this plan caused such resentment in Javakheti that a full deployment proved impossible. The Akhalkalaki base is essential to Javakheti’s economy. Employment is dominated by the base, which also provides a market for local produce and imports from Russia. Georgia’s campaign to close the base is strongly resented. The local fear is that Turkish troops would move in as a part of a NATO strategy to replace Russian forces,
or that Georgian troops would enter the region. This latter poses a more immediate risk of conflict, as the population is armed and a minor incident could escalate into violence. The exemption of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the Russian visa regime for Georgian citizens is a source of envy in Javakheti, as many local males go to Russia for employment. The feeling is that the Armenians are being punished for a problem which the Georgian state has with
Moscow. Many are seeking to obtain either a Russian passport, via the military base, or an Armenian passport, so as to travel freely. The relationship between Georgia and Armenia is tense, but both leaders have a stake in promoting stability. Shevardnadze seeks to avoid another ethnic conflict, while
Kocharian is aware that Georgia offers the only transit route to Russia and Europe out of landlocked and isolated Armenia. In 2001, Shevardnadze paid an official visit to Yerevan, assuring the Armenian officials that his government
is committed to its promises of development for the Javakheti Armenians. During this visit, a new bilateral treaty on friendship, mutual security and cooperation was signed. The Presidents, however, are under severe pressure
from the public. In Georgia, anti-Armenian sentiment and xenophobic attitudes are on the rise. In Armenia, the opposition accuses the President of failure to act on Armenian concerns: pressure on Armenians to leave mixed areas in Georgia; Armenians being pushed out of political and economic positions in the capital; inadequate development in Javakheti (the only electricity the region
has comes from Armenia); problems with transit; and military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan. In September 2001, an Armenian parliamentary delegation called on the Council of Europe (CoE) to send European monitors on a fact-finding visit to Javakheti.59 Georgia’s plans to repatriate Meskhetian Turks (see p. 20) – which ethnic Armenians vehemently oppose – may be
another explanation for the Armenian stand at the CoE, since repatriation of Meskhetian Turks constituted one of the conditions for Georgia’s CoE membership."

Document(s): Open document

2002 - Source: Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development

Report on the Azeri, Armenian and Meskhetian minorities ("Ethnic-Confessional Groups and Challenges to Civic Integration in Georgia. Azeri, Javakheti Armenian and Muslim Meskhetian Communities.") [#8276],  [ID 5031]

Document(s): Open document
cpidd-geo2002-minorities.pdf

08.2001 - Source: European Centre for Minority Issues

ECMI: Before the collapse of the USSR the Armenian minority was also concentrated in Tbilisi and Abkhazia, today they remained mostly in Javakheti ("Armenian Minority in Georgia: Defusing Interethnic Tension") [#10613],  [ID 5033]

"Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian minority in Georgia was also
concentrated in Tbilisi and Abkhazia. Tbilisi was once the trading and cultural center
of the Armenians, who formed an intrinsic part of the city population and represented
the largest ethnic group living in Georgia. In Abkhazia, Armenians even outnumbered the local Abkhaz population. However, since the collapse of the Soviet
regime and the outbreak of the armed conflict in Abkhazia from 1992 to 94, the
number of Armenians has declined significantly. They have remained mostly in
Javakheti, which, according to some analysts, is "as much 'Armenia' as it is
'Georgia'". The main language spoken and written in Javakheti is Armenian. The
schooling is predominantly in Armenian, and among the currencies circulating are
Armenian Drahms, Russian Roubles, and, to a lesser extent, Georgian Lari. Each
family in the region maintains strong ties with Armenia, and the communication
between Javakheti and Yerevan seems much more intense than that with Tbilisi. Georgian central authorities exercise a varied degree of control over the region, with
the most limited influence on its predominantly Armenian parts. Lack of financial
resources and difficult economic conditions do not allow the government to invest in
Javakheti, which is the most backward region in all of Georgia. The population
largely survives through small scale farming and trading. The infrastructure,
however, seems to be in ruins and requires significant human and financial resources
to be restored. The major employer in the region is the Russian military base, where
about 70 per cent of the employees are local Armenians."

Document(s): Open document

07.2001 - Source: Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development

Javakheti, the largest ethnic enclave, has an estimated 95% of ethnic Armenian population ("Georgia's Membership in the Council of Europe, Achievements and Failures") [#10549],  [ID 5035]

"Two largest ones are Javakheti – historical region in the South of Georgia, with some 95% of ethnic Armenian population (Javakheti is part of the
administrative region of Samtskhe-Javakheti), and parts of the region of Kvemo Kartli (namely, Marneuli, Gardabani) with large numbers of ethnic Azeri population. Both these enclaves are situated on the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively. Major problems here consist of the social and cultural isolation of minority populations. Most of them do not speak Georgian, and with the importance of the Russian language declining, their level of knowledge of
and participation in the public life is very weak. So is their sense of Georgian citizenship. This creates suspicions with regards to their loyalty among the majority population, while their social, economic and other
grievances are easily ethnicized. Problems of Javakheti are more conspicuous and have attracted greater attention. One reason for this is excellent relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan and hidden tensions between Georgia and Armenia caused by different attitude by these countries towards Russia’s role in the Caucasus. This difference is exemplified by the problem of the Russian base in Akhalkalaki, the main town of Javakheti. Local Armenian population considers the base as the main provider of jobs and of security from neighboring Turkey, while the Georgian government – being supported in this by the majority of the population – insists that the base being closed down
as soon as possible. Negotiations on the base closure are currently under way between Georgian and Russia. This creates tensions between the region and the state. The second additional factor of tension is the prospect of repatriation of Muslim Meskhetians. Both ethnic Armenian and Georgian population of the region is strongly against such a prospect, and consider the Muslim population to be historical enemies.
The Georgian government has not elaborated any policy towards ethnic enclaves. Understandably, any prospects of ethnically based autonomy that would only deepen the sense of isolation from Georgia are dismissed, but there is no proactive policy of integrating these minorities into the Georgian society. The
government only reacts to emerging problems – being so far reasonably successful in not allowing hidden tensions to develop into serious conflicts."

Document(s): cipdd-geo.pdf