German Government Concerned over Religious Freedom in Georgia Orthodox Extremists Threaten Minorities in Caucasian Republic

Berlin/Tbilisi, June 26 (idea) ­ The German government has voiced concern over the treatment of religious minorities in Georgia. In reply to a Parliamentary question the Foreign Office in Berlin informed two Christian Democrats that it supports efforts to bring about religious freedom in the Caucasian Republic.

More than 300 acts of violence against adherents of religious minorities, mostly Protestants, have been recorded last year. The perpetrators are militant Orthodox groups, mostly under the leadership of former priest Vasili Mkalashvili. Bibles have been burnt in prisons. Non-orthodox teachers have been sacked because they supposedly posed a danger to orthodox students.

According to the German government Georgian authorities have issued an arrest warrant against Mkalashvili which has, however, not yet been served. The Georgian government has condemned religiously motivated acts of violence.

It has also proposed a bill to protect the freedom of religious institutions. But the Parliament in Tbilisi has not had a chance of dealing with the bill. According to the Foreign Office in Berlin the conflicts have made the Georgian Orthodox Church more aware of the importance of religious freedom as laid down in the Georgian constitution.

Approximately 57 per cent of the five million inhabitants of Georgia are Orthodox and 0.5 per cent Protestants. One in five is a Muslim. The Parliamentary question was filed by Rainer Eppelmann and Hermann Groehe. Eppelmann is a former Protestant clergyman and Groehe a member of the leadership of the main line Protestant Church in Germany.

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Evangelical news agency idea. Wolfgang Polzer Tel: +49-6441-915102, Fax: +49-6441-915118 e-mail: ­ Internet: http://www.idea.de Postal address: idea, PO Box 1820, 35528 Wetzlar, Germany

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