Georgia is currently a country affected by separatism, the consequences of which and the pain of which remain to this day. Over 10% of Georgia's population (over 400,000 people) are refugees from Abkhazia and Samachablo, who are still unable to return to their homes. And it is absolutely ridiculous that in our country they are raising funds not to support these refugees, but to support separatism and the separatists. And those very separatists started a bloody epic of separatist wars in the South Caucasus. These wars eventually led to the fact that Georgia lost 20% of its territory, which is still occupied!

We are talking about Armenian Karabakh or so-called "Artsakh" separatists, who launched bloody processes of border redrawing and ethnic cleansing before other separatists in the South Caucasus. The separatist movements in Georgia's Samachablo and Abkhazia were not only organised along the lines of the Armenian Karabakh movement, but were coordinated from one centre, the Kremlin and the near-Kremlin-powerful Armenian lobby. During the separatist war in Abkhazia, separatist fighters from Karabakh were moved "to the Abkhazian front" where their brutality towards the Georgian population was particularly high. Baghramyan's Armenian battalion was particularly brutal towards the Georgian population.

And further on, the separatist regime of the so-called "NKR" or "Artsakh" organized by Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani lands of Karabakh supported the separatist regimes in Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, recognizing their so-called "independence". And Armenia has regularly and always at the UN General Assembly voted against the return of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. Which is not surprising, given that a significant part of homes and flats of Georgian refugees in Abkhazia have been illegally seized by ethnic Armenians.

A separatist insurgency in Samtskhe-Javakheti was also planned according to the Karabakh scenario. Also with ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion of the Georgian population, as in Abkhazia. However, fear of the difficulties of a war on two fronts only led the Armenian nationalists to temporarily put the brakes on the implementation of these anti-Georgian plans. However, this does not mean that they, the formerly "Javakhk" separatists, have abandoned them.

All the more so since the Armenian nationalists appear to have found a force willing to fight for their interests in the South Caucasus region - the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which carries out military operations far from Iran in various Middle Eastern countries (Iraq, Syria and Yemen). Today, the IRGC is really standing up for the "Artsakh" separatists.

The IRGC's support of Armenian "Javakhk" separatists (in unison with Russia) if it is decided to "force a corridor" through Georgian territory for Armenia is not such an unrealistic scenario. Moreover, there are terrorists from ASALA operating in Karabakh as part of separatist bands, and there is information that the IRGC is also recruiting open terrorists for Karabakh operations, including from the PKK ("Kurdistan Workers' Party").

The collection of funds by Armenian "Javakhk" separatists on Georgian territory to support "Artsakh" separatists cannot but cause concern. The support is absolutely illegal and contrary to Georgian legislation which prohibits financing of extremist and terrorist organizations. Information published by jnews.ge, a separatist publication operating in Georgia, under the heading "A gathering in support of Karabakh will be held in Akhalkalaki":

"At the initiation of the "Zori Zoryan" Union and the Javakheti Youth Union, a gathering in support of Karabakh and the Karabakh Armenians will be held in the courtyard of the Surb Khach Akhalkalaki church.

"For 100 days already "Artsakh" (Nagorno Karabakh) has been in blockade because of false environmentalists of Azerbaijan. For 100 days the only road connecting "Artsakh" with Armenia, which has great vital importance - the Lachin corridor - has been closed. Rallies in support of "Artsakh" and the Armenians of Artsakh are taking place around the world. In Javakheti there will be a support gathering on the occasion of the 100-day blockade of "Artsakh". In this regard we call on Javakheti Armenians to take part in the support rally to be held in the courtyard of St. Khach Akhalkalaki church at 15:00 on 21 March," reads the statement released by the "Zori Zoryan" union and Javakheti youth union.

Let us remind that on December 12, a group of Azerbaijanis in plainclothes with environmental justifications blocked the highway Khankendi (Stepanakert)-Goris at Shusha-Karin Tak junction, connecting Karabakh with Armenia. On 13 December Azerbaijan also cut off the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was restored on 16 December, after which gas is regularly cut off, partially turned on, then cut off again. Since 10 January there have been rolling blackouts in Karabakh, with a failure on the 33rd km of the only high voltage line between Goris and Stepanakert. Essential foodstuffs are sold on vouchers.”

In addition to fundraising, there was a direct action in support of separatism in Georgia, a country affected by separatism. The same jnews.ge writes in the article "Support rally in Javakheti: “Artsakh, we are by your side'":

"Today, on 21 March, members of the "Zori Zoryan" Youth Union and the "Javakhk" Youth Union held a march in Akhalkalaki in support of the Karabakh Armenians.  Members of the "Zori Zoryan" Union also sent a letter to Samvel Manukyan, a majoritarian MP from Javakheti in the Georgian Parliament.

  Participants of the procession in Akhalkalaki with Armenian and Georgian flags, banners with inscriptions in Armenian and Georgian - "Open the way to life for 'Artsakh', 'Artsakh, we are beside you', 'Artsakh in blockade for 100 days', 'Blockade of 'Artsakh' leads to genocide'" left the Youth Centre and headed first to the City Hall, then to the yard of Surb Khach Church.

On behalf of the "Zori Zoryan" Youth Union the young people sent a letter to Samvel Manukyan, Armenian MP of Georgia.

 In particular, the letter said:

"There is a humanitarian catastrophe in 'Artsakh'.  In the current difficult geopolitical conditions, when the superpowers are engaged in political trading in their own interests, even the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague of 22 February this year is ignored.

Regrettably, we are confronted with a reality, when Azerbaijan totally ignores this ruling, while superpowers and international organizations refuse to exert pressure on Azerbaijan.

Mr. Manukyan, taking into consideration that Georgia and Azerbaijan have good neighborly relations, we ask you to raise the above-mentioned issue with the Government of our country, Georgia, and if possible, through mediation and negotiations with Azerbaijan, prevent a humanitarian disaster, as it happened in June 2021, when 15 Armenian prisoners of war were released from Baku jails with the mediation of Georgian Prime Minister Mr. Irakli Garibashvili".

The protesters chanted "Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan!" in support of the Karabakh Armenians in the courtyard of the Surb Khach Akhalkalaki church.

Note that similar gatherings are taking place around the world these days in support of Armenians who have been under blockade for more than 100 days. On 12 December a group of Azerbaijanis in plain clothes with environmental justification blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway at the Shushi-Karin Tak junction linking Karabakh to Armenia. On 13 December Azerbaijan also cut off the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was restored on 16 December, after which gas is regularly cut off, turned on partially, then cut off again. Since 10 January there have been rolling blackouts in Karabakh, with a failure on the 33rd km of the only high-voltage line between Goris and Khankendi (Stepanakert). Essential foodstuffs are sold on vouchers.

"As Armenians we are obliged to participate in all this, to support 'Artsakh' and Artsakh Armenians.  We sent a letter to a member of our parliament to make sure that our word reaches the Georgian authorities.  It is important for Azerbaijan to know that there are Armenians in Georgia who do not accept Azerbaijan's actions.  "Artsakh must be unblocked, it cannot go on like this for long.  It's too early to speak about the next steps, but we hope the problem will be solved as soon as possible and 120,000 Armenians, who have been blockaded in Artsakh for 100 days, will be able to communicate with the outside world," Chausch Samvelyan, head of the Zori Zoryan youth union, told JNEWS.

At the end of the support rally, participants offered prayers to the Almighty and lit candles at Surb Khach church, led by priest Tadeos Ter-Mkrtchyan."

In general, at the instigation of separatist organizations, Georgian citizens of Armenian nationality hold demonstrations in support of separatism, when 400 thousand of their fellow citizens are deprived of their homes because of separatism. The "Javakhk" separatists believe that the citizens of Georgia should "sympathize" with the "Artsakh" separatists and collect money, which in reality, of course, will go not for "essential food" (which Azerbaijan has no problem letting into Karabakh in Armenian-populated areas), but for arming the separatist gangs illegally located in the zone of responsibility of Russian "peacekeepers".

Even assuming that Karabakh Armenians "suffer from the blockade" - they are, by the way, in their homes, warm and comfortable. It cannot be compared with the way the Georgian refugees from Sukhumi had to flee through snow-covered mountain paths from the thugs of Baghramyan's battalion in Abkhazia in 1993.

Demonstrations in support of separatism as well as fundraising to finance separatism and terrorists on the territory of Georgia are unacceptable. The Georgian law enforcement agencies must suppress such activities on the basis of the Georgian legislation on combating extremism and separatism. All the more that it strikes at interests of Georgia and is directed against a strategic partner, a state friendly to Georgia, whose territorial integrity Georgia recognizes. While "Javakhk" separatists chant the opposite, that the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan - Karabakh "will never be" part of it! This is equivalent to them chanting "Abkhazia will never be part of Georgia"!

Such organized events of the separatists, including fundraising events, are also dangerous in that they allow the separatists to "work out organizational moments". And then, at any time, they can "coordinate" and begin to raise funds not for the war against Azerbaijan (as in fact happened in Akhalkalaki on March 21, 2023), but to raise fighters and funds for the war against Georgia.

George Mazniashvili