On July 19, different opinions are voiced with regard to the incident happened at the courtyard of the Armenian Holy Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, starting with the fact that it was hooliganism on purely routine matters and ending with considering a result of interethnic and religious intolerance. Due to repair works of Georgian-Armenian Diocese Diocesan St. George Church, the Residence of the head of the diocese is now in the Holy Etchmiadzin. Director of Press Department of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese, Susanna Khachatryan, in the conversation with four Armenian media, introduced details about the incident. She confirmed that everything started on routine matters. A Georgian woman could not park or leave the parking and started shouting and complaining. The Armenians standing in the Church approached her and offered their help, the woman did not agree, she called her friend, and eventually the woman was offered a hand and she left the place.
But before that, the Church employees have heard that bad language was used addressed to Armenians and the Armenian Church, brawling started, which did not last long. “Later, everything seemed quiet, I had already finished my work and wanted to go home, it was already 18:30, when a large group of baptism came in, we again went back to the Church and the baptism ceremony began. At that time, 30-50 people, organized by this woman and her friend, had come and set an ambush. When the baptism was over, people came out, and they attacked. Our guys were just four of them, whereas they were a few decades. They beat our guys, they were holding white weapons – empty beer bottles, with which they were hitting, and a rubber truncheon, etc.”
Ms. Susanna also told about the shootings heard. “When this fierce brawl was on, imagine just dozens attacked four people, we managed to call the head of our maintenance department, who quickly arrived, he had the right to bear weapon, when he came, he tried to divide us but seeing that he does not succeed, and the police were still not there, he fired into the air, they ran away and just stepped back. In the meantime, people attending the baptism were already in panic, since bottles were thrown from each direction, and they again entered the church in panic.” When finally everything became quiet, the attackers slightly became sober from the gunshots in the air, the police finally came and a case is filed with the following substantiations: a hooligan attack on routine matters.
Director of Press Department of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese said that their main demand and the main task is to find out who are the organizers. “If they are attacking the Church, organized and intended, equipped with various tools and attacking with 40-50 people, how it can be called. We demand that the organizers be punished to avoid reoccurrence of such incidents.” To the question of “Aravot” whether there were no attempts of reconciliation from the opposite side, whether they had apologized, Ms. Susanna said, no. “During the attack, they had pull away the pectoral cross of the Reverend, and the police said that they will bring it back, and indeed, one or two days later, they brought it back without the chain. That’s it.”
Director of Press Department of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese noted that in Georgia, particularly in Tbilisi, there are ethnic and religious intolerance elements, and even though the disputes begin on routine matters, it all the same, they have roots. And he said that in the Georgian Church, a Georgian priest did not allow an Armenian child to pray and cross, saying, you have no right to cross in our church, our church is an Orthodox Church, and yours is Gregorian. “This priest was so unaware that he does not even know that the Armenian Apostolic Church is an Orthodox Church”. Nevertheless, Ms. Susanna noted neither they nor Georgians need any irreconcilability, or moreover, conflicts. “We need peace, and peaceful coexistence. We do not need any unpleasant thing. We are living on other’s land and we more need peace.” He also noted that sometimes shimmers also happen among Armenians, “brigands,” who play the role of spoilers of the Armenian-Georgian relations. Afterwards, he noted that such incidents should not leave an impact on Armenian-Georgian old-age friendship. “For this very reason, it is necessary to find the organizers of this incident and punish them to avoid forming an atmosphere of impunity and leave no trace on the friendship of our people.”
Melania BARSEGHYAN
Tbilisi – Yerevan
