GEORGIA: GOG TO RECOGNIZE OTHER FAITHS, COULD LEAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000538 SIPDIS DEPART FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF AR RU GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: GOG TO RECOGNIZE OTHER FAITHS, COULD LEAD TO IMPROVED RELATIONS WITH ARMENIAN CHURCH REF: A. 08 TBILISI 2438 ¶B. 08 TBILISI 2269 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili told the Ambassador on March 18 that the GoG is working on a change to the Civil Code to recognize additional churches, namely, the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC),Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. Currently, only the Georgian Orthodox Church is recognized as a church, and all others may register as a not-for-profit or for-profit organizations. The ACC would welcome such a step, as under law they would be recognized as "official bodies," and the amendment would permit the institution to own property and import items tax free. The ACC noted that this could be a first step to settling long-disputed church restitution issues between the AAC and the Georgian Orthodox Church. Although Father Narek Kushyan, an AAC priest in Tbilisi, speculated that this change would happen as soon as the end of March, Yakobashvili did not offer a timeframe. A recent visit to Norashen church in Tbilisi (reftels),revealed that controversial GOC Priest Father Tariel Sikinchelashvili had been moved to a different church, but that another new fence that limited mobility around the church had recently been constructed. Recently broken windows permitted a glimpse inside at the priceless paintings adorning the Norashen walls, which will likely suffer decay and damage the longer discussion are protracted. End Summary. YAKOBASHVILI--WE'RE GETTING THERE ¶2. (C) In a March 18 meeting, Minister Yakobashvili told the Ambassador that the GoG had already drafted a amendment to the civil code to recognize other faiths. This amendment would recognize four other faiths as "official bodies" and extend to them some of the privileges currently enjoyed exclusively by the GOC. (Embassy note: According to the Bishop of the Armenian Orthodox Church, the four faiths to be covered by the amendment Judaism, Islam, Roman Catholicism and the Armenian Orthodox Church. A future amendment would be needed in order to address Protestant denominations, including the Baptists, and Jehovah's Witnesses among others. End note.) Yakobashvili said the draft needed to be circulated to the cabinet and then sent to Parliament. He did not estimate how long this process would take. The new statute would permit the four additional faiths to own property and to receive certain tax breaks. (Comment: It is interesting to note that Yakobashvili himself seems to be involved in the issue although it does not fall within his portfolio. It may simply be that, with many reintegration initiatives currently on hold, Yakobashvili has the time. He is also the only Jewish member of the Cabinet. End Comment.) CHANGE IN THE AIR ¶3. (C) At a March 5 reception honoring the release of the Human Rights Report, Armenian priest Narek Kushyan told Emboffs that he had already heard the GoG was working on such changes to the law. He speculated that the Baptists and others would be next, but would not be included with these initial four. He believed that Georgians were not quite ready to accept some "non-traditional" religions and this process could take longer. Father Narek was noticeably upbeat, something not witnessed in earlier meetings. Father Narek was told that this change would happen as soon as the end of March. Additionally, he said that he hoped that such as change would open the door to the long stalemate on Qas change would open the door to the long stalemate on settling the six disputed churches between AAC and GOC. NORASHEN CHURCH ¶4. (C) On March 13, DCM and Emboff visited Bishop Vazgen and Father Narek, both of the AAC. They recounted the problems associated with Norashen, but added that Father Tariel Sikinchelashvili, a GOC priest who worked at the Georgian Church next door (ref A) had been moved to another parish which had helped reduce tensions. (Note: Emboffs were told that Father Tariel now works at Samoeba Church (Trinity) in Avlabari, near the Presidential Administration Building. End note.) A walk to the church revealed that the rubble which was on one of the Armenian graves in the fall of 2008 was still there, and that another two-story building to the side had been remodeled, and now houses an NGO on the first floor and Georgian priests on the second floor. ¶5. (C) The front of the church complex has a new gate, and further inspection revealed that some of the church windows had been broken since emboffs' last visit in November 2008. TBILISI 00000538 002 OF 002 Through the broken window it was possible to see a breathtaking view of wall murals. In 1994, upon mutual agreement, disputed churches had been locked until their status could be resolved. Since then, no one from the Armenian side has been inside the church until in early 2009, Armenian Prime Minister Sakisyan visited the church accompanied by the Georgian Minister of the Environment Goga Khachidze. Father Narek said that damage had occurred since the church was shut in 1994, most notably to the altar. At the completion of the Armenian Prime Minister's visit, the entrance had been boarded up and a new lock had been placed on the door to deter vandals. BREAK-DOWN IN COMMUNICATIONS ¶6. (c) Arnold Stepanian, NGO Multinational Georgia, told Emboff in the latest scuttle of attempts to resolve the Norashen Church issue, that it was the Armenian side that had objected to forming a historical commission to study the origins of the disputed churches. According to Stepanian, the Armenian side wanted to open up the study to include other churches besides the six which are the usual points of contention. COMMENT ¶7. (C) If the changes to the law permit a recognition of other faiths, this would be a major step forward for some faiths in Georgia and for the Saakashvili administration in improving relations with Armenia. Coordination with the GOC could be thorny, but such a step would only be the first of many needed to resolve the disputed churches issue. While the Armenian side is hopeful, future success will be measured over a distinctly longer period which will begin when the law is amended. TEFFT