MPs Condemn Ombudsman’s Stance on Treaty between State and Orthodox Church

The Georgian Parliament approved on February 17 with a 103 to 5 vote Georgian Public Defender’s report on human rights in Georgia for the first six months of 2005. But the document approved by the Parliament gives a negative assessment to the part of the Public Defender’s report, which speaks about the religion freedoms.
 
In particular, parliamentarians condemned the Public Defender’s stance on the Concordat signed between the Orthodox Church and the Georgian State in 2002.

Public Defender Sozar Subari says that the Concordat violates principle of equality principle recognized both by the Georgian Constitution and the international conventions, because the Concordat gives important privileges to the Orthodox Church compared with other religious groups in Georgia.
 
The Parliament said in its decision that the Concordat will not be revised and reiterated the document should be “untouchable.”