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