Rift Grows, but Room for Optimism Remains – Report on Ethnic Minorities

Estrangement of ethnic minorities, because of the lack of the Georgian language skills, seem to grow, however, their “feeling and the wish to be part of Georgia is obvious,” a comprehensive survey has revealed.

Assessment survey report was development in frames of National Integration and Tolerance in Georgia (NITG) – a USAID-funded program implemented by the Tbilisi-based NGO UN Association of Georgia (UNAG).

Survey, carried out in December, 2006, has interviewed 2,400 respondents throughout Georgia with specific focus on Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions – home of large ethnic Azerbaijani and Armenian minority, respectively.

Research methodology was developed by the NITG research team and Freedom House Europe and survey was carried out with help of BCG Research, the Institute of Social Research (ISR), Applied Research Company (ARC), Chavchavadze University and ECMI.

Poor command of the language by ethnic minority groups is seen to be a reason behind their “visible under-representation” in almost all spheres of public life, according to the report.

In Samtskhe-Javakheti and in Kvemo Kartli 75.4% and 83.1%, respectively, of the residents who belong to national minorities say they do not speak the Georgian language. But results vary in other parts of the country with only 5.8% of ethnic minority respondents in the capital Tbilisi saying that they do not speak Georgian. Figure is even lower in the regions where only a small minority group resides.

About 2 million GEL is allocated annually , with 15% coming from donor organization and the rest from the state budget, to boost status of official language in the minority-dominated regions of the country.

When asked “what is Georgia for you?” 98.7% of non ethnic Georgian residents of Kvemo Kartli and 80% of non ethnic Georgian residents of Samtskhe-Javakheti region have responded: “a homeland.”

“Most persons belonging to national minorities… associate their future with Georgia and participate massively to elections,” the report reads.

The document, however, points out absence of sufficient degree of civil debate among minorities on a vision of their role in the Georgian society.

As persons belonging to national minorities remain mostly silent, the report says, “the vindictive voice of a few radical political figures and the stereotypes often transmitted by the media” are often heard.

95.8% of surveyed in predominately ethnic Azerbaijani-populated Kvemo Kartli residents consider the problems of their province to be similar or mostly similar with those in the rest of Georgia. Only 64.7% of surveyed Samtskhe-Javakheti residents think so. Contrast indicates on more physical isolation of Samtskhe-Javakheti, according to the report.

When survey respondents were asked to evaluate which ethnic groups they would consider having closer relations with, both in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti, ethnic Georgians were rated as second best, following ethnic Azerbaijanis and Armenians, respectively.

When asked how they trust the judicial system, many respondents in the regions populated by minorities consider themselves unable to reply (47.6% in Samtskhe-Javakheti and 18% in Kvemo Kartli). Those who asses their trust towards judicial institutions tend to give higher scores (2.8 points on a four points scale in Kvemo Kartli, 2.9 points in Samtskhe-Javakheti), according to the survey.

Speaking about overall findings of the survey research team leader, Levan Tarkhnishvili, pointed that while there are less problems in respect of protection of minority rights, “problems and challenges remain in respect of their integration.”

The assessment report incorporates not only survey, but media monitoring results as well carried out in December, 2006 and again in April, 2007.

Monitoring of four television stations with nation-wide coverage: Rustavi 2, Imedi, Mze and the Public Broadcaster, and of the 2 regional television, has revealed that media barely focused on persons belonging to ethnic minorities and issues related to them.
 
According to the document, in news reporting, when identifying the subjects of certain actions, “the journalists accent their ethnicity, often in negative context or give negative coloring, for example, “Ossetian criminal.”
 
Like in the rest of Georgia, in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti television is the major source of information. More than half of the surveyed nation-wide (51.8%) and an overwhelming majority of the respondents in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti (70% and 66.4% respectively) do not read newspapers, according to the report.

The most watched programs are news. The Azeri and Armenian language channels are rated high in both areas dominated by these minorities. The Tbilisi-based Imedi TV, however, still tops the chart country-wide, and in both minority-dominated areas (83.2% country-wide, 54.4 in Kvemo Kartli and 73.8% in Samtskhe-Javakheti watch it), according to the report.