Religious Persecution

How Much Longer?

FROM THE BALMY COAST of the Black Sea to the icy Caucasus Mountains, Georgia is a land of natural beauty. Thick forests, swift streams, and lush valleys adorn this mountainous region straddling the border of Europe and Asia. Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is a bustling city where modern buildings mix with ancient architectural monuments. But Georgia's greatest asset is its people, known for their strong family ties and warm hospitality.

Throughout history the people of Georgia have experienced oppression. Their country has been invaded by Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Russians, and others. By one count, Tbilisi has been destroyed 29 times!* Even so, Georgians have maintained not only their love of life, art, song, and dance but also their reputation for being a tolerant society
Sadly, though, this can no longer be said of all people in Georgia. During the past two years, a small group of Georgians have damaged their country's reputation by assaulting hundreds of their fellow citizens. Mobs of furious attackers have beaten innocent men, women, and children as well as elderly and disabled individuals. With the blows of nail-studded clubs and iron bars, the attackers have bruised their victims' bodies, torn their faces, and ripped their scalps. Why are harmless Georgian citizens being beaten so viciously? Because they are Jehovah's Witnesses—a Christian community that was present in Georgia before most of the attackers were even born.

Although religious freedom is guaranteed in Georgia, the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses has frequently been confiscated. In April 1999, customs officials stated that the literature could be released only with the permission of the patriarch, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church.# The following month, the Orthodox Church was mentioned again—this time in Georgia's Isani-Samgori District Court. There, Guram Sharadze, parliamentary deputy and leader of the political movement "Georgia Above All!," filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the legal entities used by Jehovah's Witnesses. He accused the Witnesses of being antinational and dangerous. Who backed Sharadze's claim? Attached to the lawsuit was a letter from the secretary of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

On May 20, 1999, Georgia adopted the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and thus committed itself to upholding the convention's articles. Article 10 states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers." Did this right stop the opposers of the Witnesses from continuing their efforts to ban religious literature? By no means!

On June 21, 1999, the Office of the Patriarch of All Georgia, in a letter to the head of customs inspection, insisted that "the distribution of foreign religious literature should be banned." In addition, Giorgi Andriadze, an official spokesman of the Georgian Orthodox Church, declared that Jehovah's Witnesses were dangerous and should be banned. These denunciations did not fall on deaf ears. Religious fanatics, who had burned literature of Jehovah's Witnesses in the past, now felt confident that they could attack the Witnesses themselves and get away with it. On Sunday, October 17, 1999, they struck again.

Thousands of Georgians
Speak Out Against Persecution

While it seems that this statement by the Supreme Court has had little effect on perpetrators of mob violence, it is heartening to note that thousands of citizens of Georgia have already condemned the ongoing persecution. Beginning on January 8, 2001, Jehovah's Witnesses circulated a petition that called for protection from mob attacks and for the prosecution of those who have participated in violent attacks against Georgian citizens. Within two weeks, 133,375 adult citizens from all regions of Georgia signed the petition. Considering that there are only 15,000 of Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia, the overwhelming majority of those who signed were likely members of the Georgian Orthodox Church. But on January 22, 2001, the petition disappeared. What happened?

That day, in the office of Georgia's Public Defender, Nana Devdariani, a press conference was held to release the petition formally. Suddenly, during the conference, Vasili Mkalavishvili and ten others burst into the office to seize the 14

volumes making up the petition. A representative of the Caucasian Institute for Peace and Democracy tried to protect the petition, but the invaders assaulted her. While Mkalavishvili was spewing invective, his followers wrestled 12 of the 14 volumes from the organizers and took off with them. A foreign diplomat witnessing the incident exclaimed: "This is just unbelievable!" Fortunately, on February 6, the petition again came into the possession of the Witnesses, and on February 13, 2001, it was presented to Georgia's president.