Georgia wants CoE to take charge of its Orthodox monuments in Abkhazia

Strasbourg, January 25, Interfax – Georgian parliamentarians are going to draw the attention of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to what in their view is a deplorable state of the historical monuments of the Georgian Christian Orthodox Culture in Abkhazia.

“Georgian representatives in the Council of Europe have long raised the alarm over the shocking situation around our national monuments in Abkhazia,” Georgian Ambassador to the Council of Europe (CoE) Mamuka Zhgenti told Interfax in Strasbourg.

This is what Georgian parliamentarians are going to say at the PACE evening session on Tuesday, titled the Right of Everyone to Participate in the Cultural Life.

The Assembly will hear a speech by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Director-General Irina Bokova regarding the matter.

“The restoration of our Orthodox monuments, conducted in Abkhazia, is causing damage beyond repair: the layers of fresh dye destroy the ancient precious frescoes and rudely distort the architectural design of the objects and so on. This is why we shall ask that the relevant CoE agencies take this important problem under their control,” the Georgian ambassador added.

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