Georgian Parliament official says Gov’t and Church targeted for upholding statehood and traditional values

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, on Monday said that both the Government and the Georgian Orthodox Church have been deliberately targeted, as they play a key role in safeguarding the country’s statehood, traditions, and national values.

Ionatamishvili’s comments came after Archpriest Andria Jaghmaidze, the Head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, said in an exclusive interview with Imedi TV on Sunday that the European Union’s attitude toward the Georgian Orthodox Church changed in 2019, when efforts emerged to hold an LGBT Pride event in Georgia.

Speaking to journalists, Ionatamishvili stated that both the Church and the Government had been targeted for the same reason.

“Both the Government and the Church have been deliberately selected as targets because both the state and the Church protect our statehood, our traditions and our national values”, Ionatamishvili said.

“We can see that they are no longer trying to hide this, even in their resolutions. They now include criticism of the Church as well. This shows that the values on which our traditions and our national and spiritual identity are built are unacceptable to them. For us, this is a red line. Moreover, the discussion is not about protecting human rights, but about the public display of private life, which is unacceptable”, Ionatamishvili concluded.