While the authorities and the opposition in Georgia are arguing about the number of cases, the total quarantine methods used in Georgia have caused a series of hunger riots in Marneuli, Bolnisi, Caspi, Khashur districts, Adjara and other regions, a member of the expert council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia Yuri Vazagov noted during a briefing in Tskhinval.
According to him, the rally participants complain about the lack of food, drinking water, medicines and antiseptics, claiming that the population is on the verge of starvation. Moreover, in many settlements, Vazagov notes, an absurd situation arises - in order to receive miserable pensions and social benefits, residents need to get to the nearest ATMs, however, leaving home, they are subject to fines for violation of quarantine, the amount of which significantly exceeds the amount of social payments.
“The most threatening situation has developed in the places of residence of ethnic minorities, primarily Azerbaijanis, who, in addition to total quarantine, are faced with xenophobia and nationalism from the titular nation. The media cite numerous evidences from representatives of national minorities who claim that the authorities ignored their problems. It came to the point that the leadership of Azerbaijan had to provide humanitarian assistance to their compatriots living in Georgia, supplying them with food products through their embassy, ” the expert said.
The situation with the violation of the rights of ethnic minorities in Georgia, attracted the attention of Western media. As an example, the expert cited the BBC report on the persecution of Azerbaijanis in Georgia. According to him, in the article “Life in isolation: how the coronavirus caused an outbreak of xenophobia in Georgia”, the journalists of the publication write about calls to expel Azerbaijanis from Georgia, insulting reviews from representatives of the titular nation are also noted.
“Despite the many years of propaganda that created Georgia’s image of a democratic state, the current situation has again exposed the real state of affairs, showing that traditional Georgian nationalism has not escaped and continues to determine the state policy,” Vazagov emphasized.
According to the expert. even in the midst of an epidemic, Georgia continues to pursue a policy of suppressing national minorities, implementing an information blockade and imposing bans on entry for undesirable persons.
The expert has noted that about a month ago, the Georgian authorities banned the entry of Ara Papyan, an Armenian political scientist, head of the Modus Vivendi center for sociological research, and former Armenian Ambassador to Canada.
In all likelihood, according to Vazagov, the reason for the ban was the statement of the Armenian political scientist that it was time for the Georgian authorities to abandon the illusions regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as his position regarding the rights of Tbilisi to Javakhk, the Armenian region, which had been forcibly included in its time part of Georgia.
“The Armenians of Javakhk, like the Azerbaijanis, have been facing Georgian nationalism for several years. According to the president of the Javakh diaspora in Russia, Agassi Arabyan, who is also banned from entering Georgia, in today's Georgia there are strong national-chauvinistic sentiments towards ethnic minorities,” the expert has noted.
According to him, nationalism is the mainstream in the political and public life of Georgia.
The expert has noted that here lies a fairly simple clue to the information policy that Georgia is pursuing in relation to the Leningor district. According to him, fearing that the infringement of national minorities will become a subject of discussion on the international arena, Georgia, with the support of its partners, to divert attention and as a cover operation, launched a campaign to accuse South Ossetia of violating the rights of the ethnic Georgians.
“Thus, Georgia, which itself is a classic example of a violation of human rights on a national basis, is trying to create the image of a victim. We invite Western human rights defenders to abandon double standards and instead of replicating maxims on the fate of the “poor” residents of the Leningor districr, urge the Georgian authorities to respect the rights of ethnic minorities on their territory, including at the legislative level, finally ratifying the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages ", - said Vazagov.
As for Leningor district, having closed the borders, according to the expert, the authorities of South Ossetia do not violate any rights of the population of the Leningor district.
On the contrary, the main purpose of these measures is to ensure the safety of residents in the face of the threat of the spread of coronavirus from the territory of Georgia.
The expert has emphasized that despite the information background created by the Western and Georgian media, the situation in this district is no worse than in other regions of South Ossetia, neither in terms of funding, nor in the quality and number of constructed and functioning facilities.
