Davit Gareja clerics accuse gov’t of ignoring a problem
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 17
Top clerics of Davit Gareja monastery complex in south-eastern Georgia say that the Georgian government is ignoring the problem of the sixth-century monument, allowing Azerbaijani border guards act in the way “they wish” on the disputed territory.
Archimandrite Ilarion says that Azerbaijani border guards “must leave the Davit Gareja territory, which has already been Georgia.”
He says that the Georgian government members “are lying when say that there is no problem,” and urge clerics allow the special committee working on border issues hold negotiations in a calm environment.
“We kept calm for a while until Azerbaijani border guards dug out the area of the Chichkhituri monastery about a month ago and made a road there,” Ilarion said.
He stated that the disputed section of the Gareji monastery had not been handed to Azerbaijan in the Soviet times.
“The speculations are wrong,” he said.
Ilarion stated that the incident between locals and Azerbaijani border guards took place on July 14, because of taking out of icons by Azerbaijani border guards from one of the monasteries of the complex and for not “meeting hygiene norms” in cells.
He said that the icons had been returned to the previous location.
Deputy Head of the Georgian Border Police Teimuraz Kupatadze said that the incident was resolved shortly and the Udabno Monastery and other areas currently closed to tourist and the parish will reopen until the end of the week.
He dismissed the information that Azerbaijani border guards use cells as toilets, pointing at tourists who drop garbage.
“The territory was cleaned by the Azerbaijanis, and they promised the Georgian side that the Azeri border guards would not walk on the territory of the monastic cells,” he said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has urged for peace to help the negotiation process between Georgia and Azerbaijan on the border topic, which has not been agreed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Azerbaijani media cited the country’s border agency as saying that “Georgians provoked the incident, which was settled shortly.”
Azerbaijani media reports that Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze has been summoned in the Foreign Ministry for the explanations regarding the incident.
On 23-24-25 April, Azerbaijani border guards prevented clerics and tourists from entering the section of the monastery complex, which caused tension.
The tension was eased after the involvement of top state figures from both sides.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry says that the “border issue is specific” and such topics should be settled calmly and in a friendly environment.
Azerbaijani border guards also closed the 6th-century site back in 2012 that was protested by the march of hundreds of Georgians to Davit Gareja which ended by the re-opening of the site.
Davit Gareja monastery complex is composed of 22 rock-hewn monasteries and more than 5,000 sanctuaries and cave-cells.
