armenophobia

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Mamuka Khazaradze (left) being interviewed by POSTV. Screengrab from POSTV video.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Armenophobic attacks by pro-government media target Georgian opposition leader

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Pro-government TV channel POSTV has launched a series of Armenophobic attacks against the chair of the Lelo party and leading figure in the broader Strong Georgia opposition alliance, Mamuka Khazaradze. On 11 October, POSTV released a video showing an unnamed reporter pressing Khazaradze with accusations that he was concealing his supposed Armenian heritage. The on-the-spot interview was evidently recorded on 10 October, when Khazaradze and Strong Georgia were holding a campaign event in Tel

A vandalised plaque for Armenian philanthropist Aleksandr Melik-Azaryants in central Tbilisi. February 2019. Photo: Irakli Khvadagiani

armenophobia

Armenophobia: ‘the oldest form of xenophobia in Georgia’

by Shota Kincha

•8 min read

From tropes about rich, greedy merchants, jokes about cultural appropriation, to overblown fears of separatism, Georgia’s ethnic Armenian community are frequently the targets of hate. ‘My mother is Armenian, and I will always speak proudly about it’, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said in Parliament in June 2004, after an MP suggested that ‘some people’ hid their parents’ ethnicity. Being ‘secretly Armenian’ has been a common accusation between political rivals in Georgia, with targe

Armenia

Georgian logistics company: ‘Don’t use Armenian surnames’

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Georgian logistics company Gzavnili has advised its customers not to use Armenian surnames when ordering parcels. A message on the company’s website blamed the Azerbaijani customs services for the policy, claiming that a new law in Azerbaijan allowed them to confiscate packages on the border. ‘Dear friends. With great regret I have to inform you that Azerbaijan has issued a law which allows them to confiscate all packages with Armenian last names. The packages received on September 3 and 4th

Armenia

Opinion | Misogyny and Armenophobic hate underpins the furore over Armine Harutyunyan

by Alla Parunova

•4 min read

The public outrage over Armine Harutyunyan walking down the runway at a Gucci fashion show reveals deep-seated sexism and anti-Armenian sentiment in Georgian society and shows the failures of Georgia’s media. While the Gucci fashion show on 22 September, in which models dressed in outfits ‘inspired’ by mental illness, could have inspired a discussion about the commodification of a serious social issue, instead it was the appearance of a particular model that caused a firestorm of outrage i