Statement by the Movement Against Religious Intolerance in Georgia in connection with arrest of Vasil Mkalavishvili

We call your attention to the statement by the Movement Against Religious Intolerance in Georgia in connection with the arrest of Vasil Mkalavishvili and his followers on 12 March:

On the 12th of March 2004, police detained the head of the so-called Gldani Eparchy, Vasil Mkalavishvili, and a number of his followers. As expected, this act caused a variety of reactions on the part of the society. Due to this fact, we believe it is essential to make the following statement.

The group of Vasil Mkalavishvili, or the so-called "Gldani eparchy", has the right to have its opinion on religion and to perform religious rituals, like any other member of the society. However, Mkalavishvili and his followers have been systematically terrorizing the society, engaging in psychological terror against free mass-media, non-governmental organizations, governmental bodies, as well as using  physical violence against representatives of religious groups and organizations. The very fact that their activity remained unpunished undermined both the Georgian state and the century-long tradition of the Georgian Orthodox Church, as Mkalavishvili used to act in the name of the latter. Thus, the detention of Mkalavishvili was not only just, it was absolutely crucial. After Vasil Mkalavishvili, a person who has been wanted by the police, carried out an open and public press-conference on the 11th of March, challenging the Georgian state and society, his detention could no longer be delayed.  Despite the fact that Mkalavishvili's detention has been carried out with certain mistakes that can be explained by the lack of professionalism on the part of certain policemen, it should be noted that the police had no other option but to apply force to those violating the law, namely those demonstrating massive resistance to the police.  In this situation, the police was trying to minimize the casualties that could have followed the operation. The fact that Mkalavishvili and his followers were hiding behind the walls of the church does not reduce the responsibility of the police to fully carry out the operation aimed at detaining the violators of the law.

In the current pre-election period, some political parties have made attempts to use the discontent a certain part of the society has with Mkalavishvili's detention and methods the police has used in order to gain political benefits. Manipulating religious issues and using personal feelings of individuals in order to improve one's own rating is morally unacceptable everywhere, especially in a country that has been suffering from religious violence for years. Moreover, it should be noted that the majority of individuals defending Mkalavishvili's rights today were silent in the days when Mkalavishvili and his followers were attacking the representatives of the Georgian society.

15 March 2004

Editors note: See also the article "Tbilisi residents differ about arrest of Vasily Mkalavishvili".