Armenians Might Ask for Georgian Lands Too, Warns Shevardnadze

Former Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze predicts serious confrontation between the church and the authorities because of the parliament’s decision to adopt a law to grant legal status to other religious groups in the country.

In an interview with the Tbilisi weekly “Asaval-Dasavali,” Shevardnadze said parliament should apologize to His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, whom he hadn’t seen “so indignant” in a long time. “I intend to visit the Patriarch personally and apologize for the parliamentarians, who don’t understand what they’re doing,” he said.

Shevardnadze noted that the points of the law might lead to the emergence of Armenian claims for not only churches, but also land in Georgia. “Hopefully, this won’t happen because there are also smart people there who know that Georgia saved them many times and it is needed now to Armenians, just like the air.”

Recall, the Georgian parliament introduced amendments to the Civil Code in early July according to which five religious groups have been awarded the status of a legal entity in public law in Georgia. These are: the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Muslim community, the Jewish community and the Baptist Church in Georgia.