Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
When Armenians begin to pile up ammunition, a blast should be expected somewhere. This is simple logic since not every Georgian region can boast of possessing a rich military arsenal, including explosives and anti-tank shells.
The Georgian media published that several residents of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region handed in 22 bundles of trotyle explosives, nine sporting guns with sawed off barrels and stocks of so-called "sawed-off shotguns" and 93 hand grenades to the county’s interior ministry.
In addition, the citizens handed over 33 anti-tank shells, four mines, two anti-tank grenades, 13 detonators, six cartridge clips, nine smoke grenades and 4,521 live cartridges.
Examination revealed that the firearms and ammunition were in working order, as published on the ministry’s website.
It is obvious why the weapons have been handed - such an impressive arsenal could not be passed by by Georgian law enforcement officers who probably reminded the citizens of this Georgian region, populated by Armenians, that in Georgia, persons voluntarily handing over weapons, ammunition and explosives are exempt from criminal liability, according to the current legislation.
However, the question is that how much more ammunition and explosives do the citizens of the restless region have, and why did they collect them.
The fact is that the Samtskhe-Javakheti region is far from being a simple and quiet area, around which passions simmer for years. However, someone persistently throws wood on the fire. One day, the situation may jerk, and then the Armenian "liberators and new people of Samtskhe-Javakheti" will need this secret military arsenal, which today has not been passed to Georgia’s Interior Ministry.
Over the recent years, Armenians have raised the question of granting the status to the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, as well as the return of six churches to the control of the Armenian Diocese that the Armenian side calls its, while Georgia announced disputable.
The "Armenian issue" about the "historic homeland" in different countries arose sharply for all Armenians in Georgia soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
For twenty years, Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region, inhabited by Armenians to its misfortune, is haunted by Yerevan and Armenians, who live there.
Yerevan has repeatedly stated that the Armenian population living in the region is oppressed by the Georgian authorities, and urged to give the region maximum independence from the Georgian government.
The omnipresent Armenian diaspora has repeatedly accused the Georgian authorities of all mortal sins against the “long-suffering” Armenians living in Georgia’s region, which, in their opinion, is not a Georgian territory.
The fact that there are territories inhabited by Armenians in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Armenia, keeps Yerevan awake all night. Nowadays, the most important thing for Armenia is to maximize the isolation of Samtskhe-Javakheti region from Georgia and the Georgian authorities by any means.
Thus, the latest developments confirm once more that there is a high risk in Georgia that problems may arise in the south of the country, in the region populated by the Armenians.