US STATE DEPARTMENT: RESPECT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM BY THE GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUED TO IMPROVE DURING 2008

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.10.2009 20:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Respect for religious freedom by the Georgian
government continued to improve during 2008, says U.S. State Department
in its annual International Religious Freedom Report.

Abuse of religious minorities, including violence, verbal harassment,
and disruption of services and meetings, continued to decrease,
says the report.

Report focuses on the legal status and registration of various
religious groups. Under the law, religious groups other than the
Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) may register with the Government as
either unions or foundations.

"However, some religious communities, including Armenian Apostolic
Church, continued to express dissatisfaction with the status that
registration provided. They remain opposed to registering as civil
organizations, stating that they prefer to be recognized explicitly
as churches or granted a distinct status as a group based on religion.

The Muslim community had also not registered," the document further
says.

Under the report, disputes over legal status creates hardships in
terms of providing funding for the construction of minority churches.

It brings the example of AAC Norashen Church (Tbilisi) which wasn’t
funded by Ministry of Culture on grounds that it was reluctant to be
registered. Report also says that GOC is attempting to appropriate
the Armenian monastery. Georgian Ministry of Culture, according to
report, has stated that it will be unable to fund the project unless
the church has an official owner.

Other disputed issues are concerned with the ownership of several
churches. Catholics and Armenian Apostolic Church find that "the
Government was unwilling to resolve disputes over the ownership of
disputed church properties for fear of offending GOC constituents."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress