Azerbaijani Attack Planned in Advance: Details on the Stabbing of an Armenian Schoolboy

It was reported yesterday that 5-6 Azerbaijanis attacked 5 Armenian schoolboys from Akhalkalaki in Adjara, resulting in one of the youths being stabbed.

In an interview with ArmDaily.am, Eduard Ayvazyan, director of the Samtskhe-Javakheti Media Analytical Center, stated that 4-5 underage youths were approached by 5-6 Azerbaijani men around 30 years old, who mocked them, asked questions about whether “Karabakh is ours or yours,” and threatened to “cut their throats if they resist.” After that, one of the youths ran towards a police officer to call for help. “That youth was stabbed by Azerbaijanis, and it is noteworthy that the policeman's hand was also injured. Both the youth and the police officer were taken to the hospital. Our boy’s injury was quite serious; he was stabbed in the abdomen, but doctors managed to stabilize his condition,” he said. The young men reported that there is at least one Azerbaijani in custody, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not commented.

He informed that residents of Gomani, who are fellow villagers of the attacked youths, testify that the incident was quite organized. “In other words, the Azerbaijanis had coordinated the attack in advance and approached with a specific purpose. The stabbing was not the result of a regular altercation. We have repeatedly tried to reach the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Adjara for a comment, but the Adjara department of the ministry is not providing any response. They say they are unaware and are checking, meaning they are trying to cover this issue up,” he explained. “Naturally, if we persist, it is possible that we will receive some comment in due time, but I must remind that when a similar incident occurred in the Azerbaijani-populated area of Georgia, when they attacked Armenian trucks, and during protests in wartime when an Armenian was attacked, we also had problems obtaining comments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We were told they would try to verify the information, but afterward, they did not respond to our calls; now it seems like the same picture, they are saying they will check how true the information is, and they again aren’t answering our phone calls.”

When asked if there was an attempt to cover up the incident by the ministry, he replied that he doesn’t think this is a result of anti-Armenian sentiments. “That is excluded; the authorities of Georgia simply do not want incidents of this nature to be widely reported. They are trying by all means to downplay it to avoid interethnic conflicts, but for us, it is crucial that the Georgian authorities punish those who organize such incidents to the full extent of the law. Otherwise, it creates a sense of impunity among Azerbaijanis, and such incidents may increase day by day. These events raise serious concerns for us; we demand that the Georgian authorities punish those who create interethnic clashes with full severity of the law, as this is very dangerous in Georgia. Furthermore, that information should be transparent for the media so that we can prevent similar incidents in the future.”

This is particularly important against the backdrop that it is currently a peak tourist season in Adjara, with thousands of tourists from Armenia planning to visit to relax. If people do not feel protected in Georgia, problems may arise. It is also crucial in this regard that everyone sees that those who organize such incidents are punished.