Some want Georgians and Armenians to be enemies; that's dangerous: Van Baiburd

If academic hours allotted for teaching Armenian language have been cut by one hour, that does not mean it is a blow to Armenians living in Georgia's territory, Van Baiburd, Advisor on Minority Issues to the Georgian president, said at a press conference held in Yerevan today.

"It is done so that the children attending Armenian schools will know well the state language of the given country," said he, adding that all countries implement educational reforms.

"I assure you that it is not aimed against preserving Armenianism. If a teacher is 70 years old, he/she must be retired and replaced by a specialist who graduated from an Armenian university 3 years ago."

In his words, Armenians do not voice about similar issues when they take place in schools in Istanbul or Beirut. "If a graduate in Istanbul does not have a command of Turkish or Arabic, then he/she is not ready to live in that country," he explained.

According to Mr Baiburd, no one speaks about what Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili does for national minorities in Georgia.

"No one speaks about the fact that Mikheil Saakashvili allowed some 200 students - who had taken exams in one, in their native language only - to enter universities, you don't mention that on every possible occasion he says that ethnic Armenians, Russians and Georgians living in Georgia must enjoy equal rights ... This means that the head of the state sends a message to live in friendship."

Speaking about the situation related to the Armenian churches in Georgia, he said that the key issue pertains to the clarification of the status of the churches in Georgia country, adding that it is only the Georgian churches that have a clear-cut status.

"Why don't you say that in the recent 3 years more than 20 churches have opened [probably reopened - Tert.am] in [Samtskhe]-Javakheti?" asked he, calling on Armenian journalists not to spare efforts so that to preserve the positive view of Georgians among Armenians.

"There are some powers that want Armenians and Georgian to be enemies. Someone wants to have Armenians disappointed. That's dangerous," he added.