VZCZCXRO3719
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHSI #2179 3451418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111418Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2594
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TBILISI 002179 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: TOLERANCE REIGNS AT THE OMBUDSMAN'S OFFICE 
 
Unclassified 
 
¶1.  Summary:  For the first time, the Public Defender's Office (PDO) 
commemorated an "International Day of Tolerance," honoring several 
Georgian NGOs and individuals for their contribution toward 
advancing tolerance in Georgian society.  This event brought 
together representatives from all the major religious denominations 
and all the major ethnic minority groups in Georgia.  The new Public 
Defender Giorgi Tugushi made it clear that tolerance of minority and 
religious issues is one of his top priorities.  In this environment 
where the promotion of tolerance is often perceived as somehow being 
anti-Georgian or anti-Georgian Orthodox Church, Tugushi and those he 
recognized deserve recognition for their efforts.  End Summary. 
 
THE GOOD 
 
¶2.  Among the achievements Public Defender Tugushi singled out 
during the DATE ceremony was the successful work of the Council of 
Religious and Ethnic Minorities operating under the auspices of the 
Public Defender's Office.  Tugushi noted specific achievements such 
as: the registration of religious organizations in accordance with 
the Civil Code of Georgia; the introduction of alternative military 
service taking into account the principles of various faiths; access 
of respective priests to prison inmates of various faiths; and the 
basic revocation of Orthodox "indoctrination" at schools. 
 
THE BAD 
 
¶3.  Addressing current shortcomings, Tugushi stressed the general 
need to improve tolerance in Georgian society, as well as more 
specific problems such as: the controversy over the formal status of 
various religious denominations; the unresolved ownership issues of 
several Armenian and Catholic churches; the status of mosques in 
Samtkhe-Javakheti traditionally owned by Georgian Meskhetian 
Muslims; the continued existence of discrimination against religious 
minority students at schools; the continued practice of Orthodox 
proselytizing on the part of school teachers; insufficient media 
attention to ethnic and religious diversity in Georgia; and still 
common aggressive actions taken by certain Orthodox extremist 
organizations.  With regard to these problems, Tugushi recommended a 
more focused enhancement of the work of law-enforcement bodies, 
local municipalities, the Ministry of Education, and the media with 
a view towards tolerance. 
 
THE TOLERANT 
 
¶4.  A festive reception concluded the event and proved to be a good 
illustration of tolerance "in action."  Religious leaders wearing 
different robes, civil society leaders of different ethnicities, and 
mainstream Georgians of different political views raised glasses of 
champagne to each other.  As one of the civil society 
representatives noted, there are different approaches to solving the 
issues surrounding tolerance in Georgia, but this event succeeded in 
raising key issues raised, and acknowledging worthy efforts to 
promote tolerance.  The importance of the event was further enhanced 
by broad media coverage that highlighted, within the bigger context 
of International Day, the theme of tolerance which is not frequently 
addressed by the Georgian media. 
 
ADVOCATES OF TOLERANCE 
 
¶5.  Special certificates of recognition to "Advocates of Tolerance" 
were presented to: the Caucasus House (Naira Gelashvili); Caucasus 
Institute of Democratic Development (Gia Nodia); Liberty Institute 
(Levan Ramishvili); Center for Conflict Resolution and Negotiation 
(Giorgi Khutsishvili); Georgian writer of Armenian ethnicity Givi 
Shakhnazari; philologists Zurab Kiknadze and Nugzar Papuashvili; and 
Georgia Orthodox priest Zaza Tevzadze.  (Embassy note: the 
Ambassador will further recognize these honorees by hosting a lunch 
QAmbassador will furthr recognize these honorees by hosting a lunch 
for the Ombudsman and the group the week of December 15.  End note.) 
 The PDO announced that the honorary title of "Advocate of 
Tolerance" would now be awarded annually.  It was noted by the PDO 
that this year there were no media outlets nominated for the award, 
but he hoped that "next year media representatives would also be 
recognized for their efforts". 
 
BASS