. Political scientist Georgy Nodia thinks that, taking into account the present situation in Georgia, mass repatriation of Turk-Meskhetians evicted from the Republic in 1994 would be dangerous. According to the expert’s words, a significant part of the present population of Samtskhe-Javakhetia (in Southern regions of which Armenians compactly live) would object to this. It is quite natural that people, innocent of the deportation in the middle of the last century, worry that to the land, which was inhabited by them for centuries, people considering the area their own are going to arrive. Nodia notes that the residents of Javakhetia categorically object to return of the deported, more over, the formers are rather aggressively disposed towards the latters. In such a situation, the political scientist said, Georgia needed to conduct a more active explanatory work with the public, to consecutively dispel the numerous rumours and groundless apprehensions on this concern.
Even the approximate number of Turk-Meskhetians wishing to return to Georgia is not clear yet. But the rumours persistently contend that it is a matter of no less than 300 thousand repatriates. Nodia considers the absence of clear policy of the Georgian authorities towards the repatriation of these Georgians professing Moslemism to be a serious gap today. And this brings to undesirable results both inside and outside the country. “The authorities of Georgia have to convince the Council of Europe that they approach the solution of this problem with proper seriousness. Then EC will not so rigidly insist on returning Turk-Meskhetians to Georgia during 12 years without fail,” – Georgy Nodia said. Let us remind that this term was determined when Georgia was entering the Council of Europe in 1999. At present several committees of the Georgian Parliament simultaneously work at the bill on the order of repatriation of Turk-Meskhetians to the country.
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