The Georgian parliament has confirmed an amendment to act implied a prolongation of the term fixed for repatriation of Ahiska Turks. According to the new law, Ahiska Turks wished to return back to the historical homeland, can apply by July 1, 2009. A deputy chief of the Juridical Committee of the parliament Akaki Minashvili has said that a cause for the prolongation is a holding of 3 elections in the country in 2008 and a war occurred on August. To note that this law passed on July 12, 2007, considered a closing date for application the 1st of January 2009. By the law, Ahiska Turks wished to return back to Georgia, should apply to the Georgian Embassy in the country of residence or in the close countries. Akaki Minashvili has also noted that just nearly 900 applications have been entered by now.
The problem of returning of Ahiska Turks to the historical native land is associated firstly with a desire to put away a historical injustice. This issue which appeared in the collapsing process of the former USSR has been resulted with a making of the different international and local decisions after the lengthy discussion. But Georgia, assumed international obligations to solve this problem till the ending of 2010, don’t meet its engagements completely. It has different reasons. Most important factor is a settlement of Armenians today in much part of the home lands of Ahiska Turks. To note that Georgians, been removed here for making balance partly with Armenians, also settled in the historical lands of Ahiskas. In particular, mainly because of this factor the Georgian government doesn’t or cannot solve this matter of return of Ahiska Turks for long years. And it is not a question of just individual protests. The problem arises from non-accepting of the Armenian part and as well as Georgia rather, a settlement of Ahiska Turks in the historical lands as before the deportation. The Armenian party considers it as a weakening of their position in Georgia and as a getting into Turk encirclement of Armenians completely. At the same time, it rather perturbs the Georgian government. Also Georgia doesn’t wish an addition to either way plenty of the ethnic problems. And it doesn’t view agreeably Ahiska Turks return to their native land because of both forming a new ethnic group in the country, and problems will been risen by Armenians who oppose to the return. It seems that, in particular owing to this, the act in regard to Ahiska Turks return back too, does not imply their returning back compactly.
Ahiska Turks’ loyalty to the living countries and, at the same time, the statements given by them in hard times of Georgia, as well as in last August events, about their readiness to give up life for a territorial integrity of Georgia are factors diminishing the problems in the relationship of Georgia against them. However, the position of Armenians showed along all this process and the different problems they formed in Georgia lately prolong a problem solving of Ahiska Turks return back to their native land. In this sense, it shouldn’t be considered casual that the Armenian specialists recently have used fluently for the Akhalkala region an expression of “a territory within the official frontiers of Georgia.” But now a stage have reached that in spite of all efforts of Armenians, the steps of the Azerbaijani and Turkish officials taken on a regional and international scale in regard to the matter will be a cause for getting more serious results for rehabilitation of Ahiska Turks.
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