"Manifestation of religious intolerance" - Georgian parliament speaker against "Center for Tolerance" and its head

Speaker of Georgian Parliament against Center for Tolerance

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili commented on the activities of the “Center for Tolerance” under the Public Defender and its head Beka Mindiashvili. And this time Papuashvili turned to the organization’s donor – USAID.

Papuashvili did so after finding out that the Center for Tolerancen was not under the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. According to Papuashvili, criticism of the head of the “Tolerance Center” Beka Mindiashvili against the Georgian Patriarchate is a manifestation of “religious intolerance, hostile rhetoric and incitement to hatred.”

In turn, Beka Mindiashvili said that the statement of the Speaker of Parliament is a gross violation of ethics by a high-ranking political figure.

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Statement by Shalva Papuashvili

“I appealed to the Public Defender for clarification. It turned out that the so-called Tolerance Center under the Public Defender is not a structure of the Public Defender’s office. It is a separate, independent project, which is problematic because it is a misappropriation of the name of a constitutional body in a way that misleads citizens and presents the NGO as a state institution.

Regarding this so-called funding for the center. It is funded under one of USAID’s Unity in Diversity programs. I am deeply saddened that for the first time USAID found itself at the center of a scandal related to projects funded in its name. It appears that a man characterized by religious intolerance and fomenting religious hysteria manages to receive American funding, and yet for a cause that is the exact opposite of what he is doing.

Promoting activities against the Georgian Church and its parishioners is, of course, not in the interest of the Georgian people, but at the same time I strongly believe that funding religious intolerance in another country is not in the interest of the American people either. Therefore I expect that the USAID leadership will soon clarify this issue and act in the best interests of the American and Georgian peoples.”

Beki Mindiashvili’s response

“This statement ignores the principles of religious neutrality, separation of church and state. At the same time, the Speaker of Parliament is incompetent in discussing and assessing religious-theological issues. From this point of view, his attempt to ‘protect’ the Church is hypocritical.

Such statements may be based on the government’s desire to politically manipulate the Church while at the same time acting against the culture of tolerance and religious freedom. Since its inception, the “Center for Tolerance” has defended religious freedom and served the goals of civic integration; it will continue to do the same in the future, no matter who opposes its cause and existence. Also, the Center for Tolerance has successfully cooperated with the Public Defender for many years, but it is not a structural unit of the Public Defender Institute.”

USAID response to Papuashvili’s statement

The USAID office in Georgia also issued a statement in response to the letter of Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

The statement released by the public broadcaster said that the U.S. government is working with many organizations for the benefit of Georgia through USAID to support tolerance.

“We maintain ongoing, open and transparent communication with the Georgian government, and our programs support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”