Georgian president’s comments perceived as ‘Armenophobic’

Social media in Armenia is ablaze with criticism of Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili for her recent statements, Eurasianet writes.

On Oct. 29, in an interview with the Associated Press, Zourabichvili described one of the allegedly improper practices employed by Georgian Dream as an “Armenian carousel,” in which one individual votes several times using fraudulent identification.

Some called the president’s comments xenophobic or “Armenophobic”, considering that they belittle Armenian democratic practices as inferior to Georgia’s. Election results show that Georgian Dream captured large majorities of the vote in areas predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Zourabichvili’s comments also have brought to the forefront the issue of ethnic identity in Georgian politics.

Spreading rumors about a candidate’s ethnic origins, or otherwise suggesting that he/she is not sufficiently Georgian, has been a common practice in Georgian politics, used by politicians to reduce the stature of their political opponents in the eyes of the overwhelmingly Georgian electorate. One high-profile target of such skullduggery was former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who went so far as to take a DNA test to “prove” his pure Georgian origins.

During the just-completed elections, a prominent opposition leader, Mamuka Khazaradze, was subjected to what OC Media characterized as “Armenophobic” treatment at the hands of a pro-government television channel. At one point, a reporter asked Khazaradze if he was concealing Armenian heritage, which Khazaradze denied. “If one of my ancestors were Armenian or from another brotherly nation, I would openly and proudly acknowledge it,” he stated later.