Chapter Five:

Armenians Seek Free Handouts From the Christian World

On December 14, 1918, Armenia launched a surprise at tack on its neighbor, Georgia, in an attempt to take land.

On December 17, 1918, "When the ‘Armenian invasion’ was well under way...," Premier Zhordonia of Georgia spoke to his people (Holdwater note: spelling is "Zhordania"; Hovannisian's name has also been misspelled):

The first man who led the Republic of Armenia

There has taken place that which should not have taken place: Regretfully, Armenia had incited rebellion and then had brought up her regular army. The present Armenian government, in instigating this shameful conflict, has pre­cipitated that which has never before occurred—war between Georgia and Armenia: Who had even heard of war over a few incidents in a village or two? The real explanation could be found in the character of Kachaznuni's government, which, like the wolf eats the calf because such is its nature. That government could not live in peace and was obsessed with battling one or another of its neighbors, for like the wolf, it had to devour everything. Should not the Armenians have realized that, in view of their hostile relations with the Muslims, they must at least cling to the friendship of Georgia? But instead they had now burned this bridge as well.

Noe Zhordania (1868-1953)

"In Armenia," continued Zhordonia, "there were two political currents, one composed of men of moderation seeking reconciliation and the other made up of militarists. Obviously the latter extremists had finally gained ascendancy, but Georgia would rise to battle this pack of mauserists. (1: Richard G. Hovannisian, The Republic of Armenia, Volume I, University of Califirnia, Los Angeles, p. 65)

The Georgians discovered important Armenian government documents and they were published. The proof, from the Armenians themselves, revealed they "had made detailed plans for seizure of the land up to the Khram River; and Armenian military activity would seem to verify the authenticity of those documents"(P 111)

The war actually lasted only two weeks because the British intervened and the two countries returned to where they were before the Armenian surprise attack. The British occupied a "neutral zone" between the two countries.

Hovannissian expresses surprise that the Georgian government, in response to the sneak military attack was so harsh on Armenians living in Georgia. He writes:

The brunt of the war fell not upon the combatants or even the villages of Lori but upon the Armenians of Tiflis and the surrounding communities. Although Zhordonia's government repeatedly underscored the distinction between the Arme­nian people and what it described as a clique of Armenian militarists, it nonetheless took stringent measures against the entire population. On December 24, 1918, the parliament passed legislation making treason punishable by death and confiscating of properties, and two days later the governor of the Tiflis gubernia declared all Armenians technically prisoners of war Those Armenians in Tiflis who were natives of the districts under enemy occupation, that is the southern half of the Borchuvezd, were required to register within twenty-four hours or face prosecution under the law of treason. This announcement was followed by numerous arrests....(P122)

Hovannissian continues:

The Armenian and Russian organizations in Tiflis protested in vain. The doors of the National Council of Armenians in Georgia were sealed and members of the council were placed under house arrest.” The Armenian newspapers in Georgia were also were shut down. In the weeks after the fighting ended, Georgia arrested hundreds of people and deported them. When the Armenian Council of Georgia was subsequently permitted to resume its activities, it denounced with acerbic indignation the unjust, cruel treatment inflicted by the Georgian government. Its protest read in part: "The explanation of the Minister of Interior that this national persecution must be ascribed to the unauthorized acts of individual officials can only leave the most onerous impression upon the Armenian public, especially since the explanation follows that which has become a most common work of late — a word about the supposed respect for the Armenian people, a word that can now only wound the sensitivity of a people living under the most debasing and oppressive of conditions." (P123)

Reaction throughout Georgia was quick and certain. Hovannissian writes: "In the country side, meanwhile, lawless bands and organized units of the People’s (Red) Guard plun­dered Armenian villages and spread terror to gain retribution and to punish the disloyal and treacherous’ inhabitants.”(P124)

Once again, ordinary Armenians suffered from their leaders’ attempt involving armed conquest of someone else's land.

The Georgians had every reason not to trust Armenians. Many innocent Armenians were hurt when they were fired from their city of Tiflis jobs. The government called for new elections (at this time Armenia had not even held one).

"The Armenians in Georgia expressed outrage that this government would require every voter to be 'registered’ as Georgian citizens. The Armenian plurality of Tiflis, from anger; fear, and humiliation, stayed away from the polls, as did thousands of Russians, who would not condescend to accept the status of Georgian subjects. Tiflis thus finally became a Georgian city ruled by Georgians. Armenians who previously could not have imagined residing anywhere but in the magnificent capital of the Caucasus now began to look toward Erevan."(P124)

All democratic republics require citizenship before an individual can vote. But the Armenians claim their people must be "Armenian" but should be an equal partner and vote in another republic’s elections without declaring citizenship. Is there a single example of this type of attitude in any other nation's history?

 

(From Chapter Seven: What Kind of Christians Are the Armenians Who Claim to Be the First Christian State?)

Hovannissian writes, "During the first year of Georgian independence the collective power of the 400,000 Armenians of the Tiflis gubernia was sharply diminished." (1: Richard G. Hovannisian, The Republic of Armenia, Volume I, University of California, Los Angeles, p. 342) What he doesn’t say is why this happened. The rest of the story is the fact Armenia made a sneak, surprise and unprovoked attack on Georgia and this is why "the collective power of the 400,000 Armenians...was sharply diminished." Frankly speaking, the Georgian government had good cause not to trust the Armenians.

Hovannissian adds: "Moreover; the complicated question of citizenship threatened to relegate all Armenians of Georgia to the status of second-class subjects. Were these people the citizens of Georgia, of Armenia, of Russia, or might they hold dual or even triple citizenship? Bilateral Armeno-Georgian discussions failed to resolve the issue, for understandable reasons. Georgia could not tolerate divided loyalties and steadfastly insisted that only those who registered as Georgian citizens would be entitled to the rights and privileges incumbent therein." (P342)

What makes this an outrageous situation is because when the Armenians finally got around to holding an election later; they required the same legal requirements as Georgia. Armenia has an excellent record of wanting to talk when they try to get something for nothing, such as wanting Armenian residents of Georgia, to hold joint voting rights with both Armenia and Georgia. That was not going to happen, but the Armenians tried anyway to insert their own people into the Georgian voting process. Of course, the Armenians did not allow Georgian residents of Armenia to vote in Armenian elections, either. In other words, they did to Georgians exactly what they complained Georgia was doing to Armenians.

By the beginning of 1919 most Armenian officials, militia­men, and municipal employees in Tiflis had been erased from the payrolls, and the Georgians gained control of the local administration by monopolizing an election held in January, shortly after the Armeno-Georgian war in February the Georgians tightened their grip over the entire country through elections to a constituent assembly. As had been the case in the Tiflis municipal elections, the sizable Russian and Armenian elements either excluded themselves or were disqualified by intimidation or revised franchise requirements. (P342)

This is just another of the ongoing examples of the double standard Hovannissian attempts to explain away for his beloved Armenians. Note how he explains away Armenian aggression and blames others when Armenians start and lose wars.

Hovannissian objects to the Georgians removing Armenian officials, military men, and government employees from their positions of influence to ensure loyalty of all citizens at a time of war. What would he have Georgians do — welcome with open arms those Armenians who deliberately attempted to betray, back-stab, and undermine Georgia? Armenians, once again, bit the hand that fed them and then cried "foul" when the master reacted.

Hovannissian objects to Georgia’s requiring that only its citizens could vote. Why should Armenians, Russians, or anyone else vote in the Georgian elections, especially if they choose to refuse to register as Georgian citizens? Armenia, at this point in time, remained a true dictatorship, pure and simple, even though Hovannissian calls the government de facto.