THE SECOND INCIDENT FOR THE PAST WEEK HAS TAKEN PLACE ON THE

THE SECOND INCIDENT FOR THE PAST WEEK HAS TAKEN PLACE ON THE ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER:A SPECIAL COMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL OF NATIONAL SECURITY OF GEORGIA LOOKS INTO INQUIRY.
14.06.2000 16.31
14.06.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. A special committee of the Council of National security of Georgia investigates the incident, which took place on June 12-13 on the Armenian-Georgian border.
As Prime News agency reports, on June 12 a squabble took place between a group of Armenians leaving for Georgia from Armenia, the residents of Akhalkalaki and the workers of the frontier point near the Nimotsminda region, during which one of the frontier guards hit a 70-year-old Armenian woman. The squabble came to a fight between the local Armenian population and the workers of the frontier point. According to the reports of the Georgian sources, matters took such a turn that the locals set fire to the building of the frontier point.
The incident developed on June 13. The Armenian population gathered at the building of administration of Akhalkalaki region, demanding that numerous services acting on border between Georgia and Armenia should be cut. Prime News reports that in the evening of the same day a group of people of Armenia origin rammed the bar with a lorry at the control-passing point in Nimotsminda. According to the information of press service of State department of state border defense of Georgia, all the services are mobilized, but no extraordinary measures are taken.
MEDIAMAX: It should be noted that this is already the second conflict for the past ten days between the Georgians and the ethnic Armenians living in Georgia.
Collisions which took place on June 2 between the countrymen of the Armenian village Poka of Nimotsminda region and the religious Georgian believers who had arrived there on the holiday of Saint Nino, took place on everyday life ground only and had neither religious nor national hidden motives, declared on June 3 the deputies of the Georgian parliament Endzel Mkoyan and Van Bayburt. According to Mkoyan, the incident was caused by the fact that one of the arrived guests hit a native teenager. According to deputy Mkoyan, the relatives of the teenager took his part and the skirmish came to blows. The witness of the collision of the inhabitants of the Armenian village with the guests became the Catholicos of All Georgia Ilia II who arrived for the holiday.
The member of the parliamentary faction "Unity of Citizens" Van Bayburt, who took part in the press conference, admitted that a group of 15-20 persons existed in this region of the country who speculated in the social-economic situation of the population and raise the question of giving autonomy to this southern region of Georgia. -0-