Prepared by Messenger Staff
Abkhazia's De Facto Foreign Ministry Accuses Georgia of Indoctrinating Youth
The de facto foreign ministry of occupied Abkhazia has accused Georgia of using school educational programs to turn young people against the "Republic of Abkhazia."
The statement was prompted by a Georgian educational project for schoolchildren titled When I Return to Abkhazia. The de facto ministry called it part of a long-standing Georgian policy aimed at forming "a distorted perception of historical events and the statehood of the Republic of Abkhazia."
The so-called ministry claimed that under the slogans of "peace," "dialogue," and "Christian values," young people are being fed "one-sided political narratives" designed to raise Georgian youth "in an artificially created mythological space."
"The generation that started the bloody war against Abkhazia not only refuses to recognize the existing political and legal reality, but continues to prepare the next generation with an even more distorted understanding of objective historical facts," the statement read.
The statement further accused the Georgian side of attempting to turn young people into "a tool of their own unrealized revanchist politics."
It concluded by calling on Georgia to sign a legally binding document on the non-use of military force against the de facto Republic of Abkhazia, which it described as the only proof of peaceful intent Georgia could offer under current circumstances.
Georgian Academy Condemns Five-Year Sentence Against Pediatrician Chakhunashvili
The Georgian Academy of Humanities and Arts called on Thursday for an objective review of the so-called October 4 case after its president, professor and pediatrician Giorgi Chakhunashvili, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Chakhunashvili is among seven people convicted in connection with events that took place near Atoneli Palace on October 4. The other convicted individuals are Ia Darakhvelidze, Davit Zhgenti, Konstantine Kokaia, Kakhaber Mzhavanadze, Zakro Albutashvili, and Davit Sturua.
The Academy described Chakhunashvili as "a well-known pediatrician, professor, academician, scientist, public figure, who has served Georgia, Georgian medicine, science, and education for decades," and demanded that the trial be assessed for compliance with international fair trial standards. The group also called on the Public Defender of Georgia, local and international human rights organizations, and the international medical and academic community to monitor the case, and said the health, dignity, and fundamental rights of all those convicted must be respected.
