http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav051408a.shtml
Eurasia Insight:
NEW POLITICAL PARTY PROMOTES CHURCH AS GEORGIA'S STRONGEST DEFENDER
Molly Corso: 5/14/08
A new political party that advocates a stronger
role for the Georgian Orthodox Church is making
waves on Georgia's political landscape on the eve
of the country's May 21 parliamentary vote.
Founded by former Imedi TV news chief Giorgi
Targamadze and a handful of fellow ex-Imedi
journalists, the Christian Democratic Movement
emerged in February amidst high tensions between
the opposition and President Mikheil
Saakashvili's administration over the outcome of
the January presidential elections. [For details,
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
While other opposition parties headed to the
street to protest the election results and
subsequent failed negotiations with the
government, Targamadze and his sup****ters took up
a different theme: the need to declare the
Georgian Orthodox Church as Georgia's official religion.
Targamadze contends that since the Church
traditionally has played an im****tant role
defending Georgia's national interests, it is
"very im****tant" that now, amidst the country's
various crises, the constitution should "strengthen" the Church's role.
"People feel themselves more defended when the
Georgian state was strong and the Orthodox Church
had a strong position. This is a Georgian
tradition," he said in an interview with EurasiaNet.
Expanding the Church's educational and social
welfare activities is an "im****tant" step in that direction, he said.
"We want to raise ... the status of the Orthodox
Church to strengthen the church's role in the
development of social [programs] and the
development of education programs," Targamadze
said. "[W]e think that to keep our national
identity, the strength of the Georgian Orthodox
Church is very im****tant for the country."
To do that, the party is proposing a
constitutional amendment that would "declare
complete freedom of belief and religion in
Georgia." The second clause of the amendment,
according to an English-language translation of
the do***ent, clarifies that "Georgia's official
religion is Orthodox Christianity as a
traditionally recognized religion of [the]
Georgian people." The draft also calls for the
state to "protect the Apostle Autocephalous
Orthodox Church of Georgia and [provide] sup****t
to strengthen its role in society."
While Targamadze stresses that the Christian
Democratic Movement is not a religious movement,
its sup****t for the Georgian Orthodox Church has
become a political lightening rod.
The Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys wide sup****t
in Georgia, and is seen as part of Georgians'
national identity, noted Tbilisi State University
sociologist Iago Kachachkishvili. Yet while many
Georgians do not actively practice their faith,
polls indicate that being a member of the Church
is almost viewed as an "obligation" for Georgians, he added.
"People want to be attached to it,"
Kachachkishvili elaborated. "Not only religious
values but [for] national values [as well]."
With that trend, references to the Church and
Patriarch Ilia II's opinion on current affairs
have become part and parcel of political
discourse, a de facto proof of patriotism.
Some observers believe that by tapping into this
development, the Christian Democratic Movement -
staffed with some of Georgian television's
best-known personalities - has secured sup****t
usually beyond the reach of a debutant political party.
An April 14-20 opinion poll conducted by US
pollsters Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that the
Christian-Democratic Movement has the sup****t of
an estimated 11 percent of registered voters - a
finding that would put them well over the five
percent requirement to hold seats in parliament.
The poll, commissioned by the ruling United
National Movement for a Victorious Georgia,
surveyed 1,200 respondents nationwide and has a
margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
If the numbers are correct - and party leader
Targamadze believes they are - the group could
outperform well-known opposition parties like the
Labor Party (7 percent) and the Republican Party
(4 percent). Other opposition parties have disputed the findings, however.
But much as it attracts many, the Christian
Democratic Movement's zealous push on behalf of
the Church has also alarmed some Georgians, who
allege that the party espouses nationalistic or even neo-Nazi beliefs.
Last week, parliamentarian Levan Berdzenishvili,
a member of the Republican Party, a moderate
opposition party, lambasted Targamadze's
Christian Democratic Movement for allegedly not
sup****ting Georgia's entry into the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In an
interview published by the weekly Kviris Palitra,
Berdzenishvili claimed that the party's
cross-emblazoned banner was a modification of "Hitler's flag."
In an interview with EurasiaNet, though,
Targamadze refuted both allegations. The party,
he said, has stated "several times" that Georgia
does not have "another alternative" to NATO member****p.
He also shrugged off comparisons with the Nazi party as "amusing."
"The Christian Democratic political philosophy is
absolutely a Western style of political
philosophy and where Christian Democrats are the
ruling political parties, the rights of religious
minorities are very well defended," Targamadze
said. The Christian Democratic Movement, he
added, includes sup****ters from minority ethnic
groups including the traditionally Muslim
communities in Kvemo Kartli, a Georgian region
with strong ties to Azerbaijan. Some critics,
though, have questioned the reasoning behind the
party's quest for an official religion. The
Georgian Orthodox Church was already granted a
"special status" in the Georgian Constitution,
based on a concordat signed by the government and the Church in 2002.
"I don't know exactly what they mean under the
title of official religion," commented
sociologist Kachachkishvili. "It [Georgian
Orthodox Church] is defended in the constitution with a special status."
As have other observers, Kachachkishvili contends
that Georgian political parties have turned to
religion to capitalize on the popularity of the
Church, which ranks in opinion polls as among the
most trusted Georgian institutions.
"This is not only the disease of this political
party, but a sickness of all political parties in
Georgia," he said, referring to political
parties' champion****p of the Church. "They try to
use the name and reputation of the Georgian
Orthodox Church on behalf of their political
image. All political parties just want to show
that they are close to the Georgian Church."
Representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church
could not be reached for comment.
Political scientist Malkhaz Matsaberidze,
however, contends that the party's desire to have
the Georgian Orthodox faith declared an official
religion will likely fade once the election is
over. Without holding a majority in parliament,
the party will face difficulties pu****ng through
their proposed constitutional amendment, he argued.
"They [the Christian Democratic Movement] were
searching for a bright slogan for people to remember them," he said.
Skeptics have pointed to other aspects of the
Christian Democratic Movement's make-up as
memorable. Until March 2003, Targamadze was a
member of Achara regional strongman Aslan
Aba****dze's Revival bloc in the Georgian
parliament, and once served as Aba****dze's spokesperson.
Aba****dze fled the autonomous republic of Achara
in May 2004 when mass rallies led to his
government's collapse. He currently lives in
exile in Russia. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].
"It seems like Georgian society has quite a short
memory," Kachachkishvili said. "They forget his
political background.He stayed with Aslan
Aba****dze for years.Aba****dze was a typical dictator of a small region."
Targamadze, however, sees his time with the
Revival bloc as proof of his opposition roots.
"It was the only one serious alternative for
Shevardnadze's regime," he argued. "I think this
is a good impact for me because our political
union was the most im****tant cause why
Shevardnadze was [overthrown]." [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
While Saakashvili sup****ters may contest that
appraisal, for Targamadze, the focus should be on the future, not the
past.
"We are doing a huge job to organize our
political structure, to meet each family, person
in Georgia," he said of the Christian Democratic Movement.
Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance re****ter based in Tbilisi.
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