Permanent Controversy Between Kist and Georgian Adults in Akhmeta

“In Akhmeta district, physical controversy between ethnic Kist and Georgian youth has been underway for several days already. Zakaria Kinkladze, member of Akhmeta Sakrebulo from Republic Party, told the newspaper “Resonance” that the problem is very important and it might turn into a serious ethnic conflict.

“The member of the Sakrebulo (municipal board) thinks the Ministry of Education and Science shall interfere in the controversy of the adults. The representatives of Shashkin’s ministry state nobody has applied to them yet; so they cannot address to the problem without it,” the Article “Permanent Controversy between Kist and Georgian Adults in Akhmeta” in the Resonance reads.

According to the Resonance’s source, because of physical controversy between Kist and Georgian youths, the lessons in senior grades of the Akhmeta district public schools failed on May 17… Two days before, football championship between school teams was held in Akhmeta. During the championship, Kist and Georgian youngsters ruthlessly beat each other in front of the police station and the conflict continued next day too.

Kinkladze said the entire population of Akhmeta district is astonished with the fact because the pupils did not even pay attention to the police officers and chased each other in groups.

“District deputy governor, head of education resource center, school directors were in the town center, the police officers were there too but the children cannot return to school. Unless the police, ministry of education and school directors eradicate the problem between Kist and Georgian youths because the young people might seriously injure each other. In future, their controversy will turn into an ethnic conflict and the problem will acquire political character… Akhmeta district governor tries to hide the problems, resource center denies information about failed schooling process,” Zakaria Kinkladze told the News Agency “Medianews”.

Member of the Akhmeta district Sakrebulo told the Resonance that the problem is serious and the Ministry of Education and the government in general shall take measures to resolve it.

Zakaria Kinkladze: “The problem is that conflict between Georgian and Kist children has already become chronic. The reason is poor education system in the district. Sport events have not taken place in the district for two years already. When children meet each other they immediately start quarreling. The so-called selected children attack each other. As far as I know, somebody encourages Kist children saying Georgian children are coward and they start endless quarrel. It is not simple disagreement. It is already crime. Today, the pupils of the senior grades are running around the town center and do terrible things. Let the officials from the Ministry arrive and see what the situation is here. We should not allow children to kill each other. Parents should also interfere in this conflict… This government has put half Georgian population in prison and maybe they will meet these children and negotiate with them. Unless proper measures are taken, we will have old problem renewed - serious controversy between Kakhetian and Kist people will be impossible to avoid.”

“Nobody has applied to the Ministry regarding this problem. If they apply to us, we will definitely interfere and address to this problem properly. At the moment, we do not have any information,” said head of press-center of the Ministry of Education Nino Potrzhebskaya.

“The press-center does not clarify the exact measures that can be taken by the ministry; they say they do not have information about the problem at all,” journalist Mari Otarashvili of the Resonance wrote in her article.

According to Press Digest of the Interpresnews