07 October 2008, 12:34
Turkey and Azerbaijan rely on their minorities in Georgia to defend their economic interests
To guarantee the observance of their economic interests, Turkey and Azerbaijan want to demand to return real autonomy to Adzharia, grant special status to Azeri minority of Kvemo-Kartli region and repatriate Meskhetian Turks to Georgia.
On October 4, Azerbaijani news agencies reported, referring to a source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, that Baku was starting mass awarding of Azerbaijani citizenship to residents of Georgian region named Kvemo-Kartli (or Borchaly, in Azerbaijani). According to the source, upon termination of issuing passports, Azerbaijan is going to demand from Tbilisi to award the region with the autonomy status, and in case of refusal - to deploy troops there.
Building a "multi-level federation" is the unique guarantee to preserve the territorial integrity of Georgia, believes an anonymous employee of Turkish MFA, as quoted by Istanbul Milliyet. Apart from setting up Azerbaijani autonomy, Ankara wants to demand from Tbilisi "to return real autonomy" to Adzharia and repatriate all Meskhetian Turks to Georgia, also having awarded them with some special status.
The autonomy of Adzharia, which formally exists even now, was actually liquidated by Saakashvili's government in 2004. Since then, Tbilisi runs intensive "Georgianization" of the republic, forcing, in particular, Adzharies to get registered as "Georgians-Moslems".
The return of deported Meskhetian Turks, declared by Parliament of Georgia in June 2007, is hampered for similar reasons. The repatriates are forced into recognition of being Georgians and "restoration of Georgian surnames", which is rejected by most Meskhetian Turks.
