Armenians and Georgians – neighbours with ancient Christian roots – have much in common, but over time the differences become more apparent. Most of all the distinction is visible in respect of civic maturity.
Protests in Tbilisi, author: gipajournos, source: flickr.com
Stereotypes and Realities
Armenia, who does not hold direct diplomatic contacts with two of its four neighbors (Turkey and Azerbaijan), and has a partnership mostly with Muslim Iran, envies its only Christian neighbor – Georgia. Georgia has a sea, and every summer thousands of Armenians go to Batumi and Kobuleti to rest. Armenians argue with Georgians about a variety of issues: which nation is older, who first got its own alphabet and so on.
There are many anecdotes about who has the highest mountain or the oldest capital. Here’s one of them: “In Armenia, they found the evidence that Yerevan was founded in 782 BC. Georgians have heard about it and decided that they need to beat it somehow. They bought an aluminium bucket, wrote on it the date “882 BC” and buried. Then on the television they announced: SENSATION: Georgian archaeologists found a bucket with the foundation date of Tbilisi. International experts have arrived in Tbilisi for independent verification of the finding. They turned the bucket and saw at the bottom the inscription: “Yerevan aluminium plant”.
Armenians’ attitude towards Georgians is presented also in the well-known Soviet-era joke from the Armenian radio series:
Armenian Radio was asked:
– What is the most beautiful city in the world?
– Of course, Yerevan!
– And what size should be an atomic bomb to destroy it?
– Tbilisi is also a beautiful city!
Armenians and Georgians, as the oldest Christian nations, have much in common – for example, their hospitality and traditions. However, differences are growing. Georgia supports the alliance with the US, Armenia remains in the Russian sphere of influence. But is it the cause of the change in the behaviour of Georgians and Armenians who are in a similar situation? Could it be that the Georgian society has developed Western values while Armenians remain unchanged?
We can find a lot of examples. In 2008, the Tbilisi government used water cannons against opposition demonstrators who defended themselves with umbrellas, and on the following day returned and continued to protest. In 2004 in Yerevan protesters just ran away, and the opposition rally was finished. But this is nothing compared to inaction and lack of public reaction of Armenians in critical situations.
Georgians protect their sons
In the largest Georgian cities people protested against tortures of prisoners for several days. Georgians went to streets after watching television reports about the abuse taking place in Gldani prison in Tbilisi. The protests resulted in arresting of some prison officers. Moreover, the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia, Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, resigned. On 20 September, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Bacho Akhalaia, also resigned. “I feel a moral and political responsibility for the fact that we were not able to stop this terrible practice. So I appealed to the President about resignation”, wrote Akhalaia on the ministry’s website.
And that, to my mind, is the behaviour of the real society and of officials with honour.
Should we wait for resignation of the Armenian Minister of Defense?
On the Internet you can find records that show work relations between the managers and staff of Corrections. On a video taken on a mobile phone, we can observe the rude and degrading treatment of subordinates.
The newspapers describes bullying in the army. Armenian media are conducting heated debates with soldiers’ so-called “suspicious suicides” – on their bodies their families found traces of violence. (More on this can be found in the published article on Eastbook.eu Armenia: Will Army Bullying Cause Resignation of Defence Minister?).
Despite the fact that there are a lot of evidence showing army realities, despite the fact that over time, more and more families lose their sons during peace times, there are still no mass rallies. However, there is an informal group “An army without suspicious suicide“, which appeals to the resignation of the Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, since he is responsible for the chaos that takes place in the Armenian army, including soldiers’ suicides and murders. However, Seyran Ohanyan does not intend to resign. In contrast to the Georgian Minister Ohanyan, he does not feel himself morally responsible for his inability to stop this terrible practice.
What’s next?
There is no exact answer to the question why Armenians are so indifferent. Perhaps the issue here is a lack of coherence and national unity. Why can’t Armenians act together to address not only external but internal enemies? In this situation, there is no point in arguing about where the highest mountains are. It’s rather time to share experience of combating impunity and irresponsibility of officials.
