Tbilisi, December 5, 2024
Photo: sazu.ge
The Georgian Patriarchate condemns the president’s calls for schools to get involved in the ongoing protests that have at times descended into violent clashes with law enforcement.
The Church has issued repeated statements calling for peace over the past few days, as thousands have taken to the streets of the capital.
After the ruling Georgian Dream Party won 89 out of 150 Parliamentary seats in October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution declaring the election fraudulent and demanding a new vote. In response, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government will suspend talks on joining the European Union until 2028.
President Salome Zourabichvili, a critic of Georgian Dream, declared that she won’t leave office when her term ends next month, because the Parliament is “illegitimate.” And on Monday, she issued a call on X for educational institutions to throw their weight behind the pro-EU protestors: “After universities, it is the turn of schools to express their solidarity with the protests, all over Georgia.”
Such a call is unacceptable from someone in such a position, the Georgian Patriarchate states. Rather, the president should be working to neutralize the “polarization and hatred among people.” Political confrontation must not be brought into schools, the statement affirms.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in the week-long protest, and there have been numerous reports of police violence.
Read the Church’s latest statement:
A disturbing and concerning statement by Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili is circulating on the social network X, saying that “after universities, it’s schools’ turn to express solidarity with the protests.”
In recent days, we have been witnessing how events unfold at protest rallies; situations often become so tense that gatherings escalate into the random throwing of objects and physical confrontations.
Under such conditions, any statement encouraging the involvement of school students and minors in general, especially one made by the country’s president, who should be trying to neutralize the existing polarization and hatred among people to protect future generations’ mental and physical health from ongoing events, is extremely concerning.
Additionally, footage is spreading showing how strangers attempt to go against school administrations by entering schools, disrupting the educational process, and addressing students with calls to action, which causes justified outrage, is completely unacceptable, and must stop immediately.
False information is also spreading online claiming that classes have been suspended at the Patriarchate’s St. Ilia the Righteous School, which the institution’s administration itself denies in a Facebook statement: “The educational process at the school continues as usual.”
“I consider it a crime for political actors or parents to involve minors in current processes. We condemn the violence that has been occurring in recent days. We ask students, staff, and parents not to bring political confrontation into the school,” states Mamuka Tediashvili, director of the Patriarchate’s St. Ilia the Righteous School in Tbilisi.
Similarly irresponsible is the unsubstantiated statement discrediting law enforcement and causing polarization, claiming that law enforcement officers are under the influence of narcotics. Clergy representatives of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service maintain a nightly watch at the Kashveti Church and the surrounding area and have never recorded such incidents.
Finally, we once again urge the President of Georgia and others to treat each word with more responsibility during these tense days, as it could lead to dire consequences for everyone.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
