Xenophobic statements in Georgian Internet segment opposed by Azerbaijani youth

In response to xenophobic attacks on the Internet, young people from the Azerbaijani Diaspora in Georgia have held their own campaign. In social networks, they wrote that they know the Georgian language and are law-abiding citizens.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the coronavirus outbreak in Georgia, two districts of the Kvemo Kartli Region, Marneuli and Bolnisi, compactly populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, were closed for tough quarantine. Local NGOs have stated that there were discriminatory posts in social networks, revealing "obvious hatred and unacceptable attitude" towards members of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in connection with the coronavirus spread.

Leyla Suleimanova, the head of the "Union of Azerbaijani Women", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the young Marneuli residents, who have access to the Internet and speak Georgian, became interested in those who leave xenophobic comments in social networks. According to her version, it turned out that most of the network accounts are fake; and the campaign against Azerbaijanis had soon faded out.

"I don't know of any cases, when anything was told to Azerbaijanis in real life. The campaign was organized on the Internet only," Ms Suleimanova has stated.

She has added that in response to the anti-Azerbaijani campaign on the Internet, young people from the Diaspora, who speak Georgian, have held their own campaign: they wrote in social networks that they know the Georgian language; they are Georgian citizens and observe the laws.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 15, 2020 at 06:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.