Culture Ministry rejects TV report alleging historical monument destruction in Borjomi fire

The Georgian Culture Ministry on Saturday rejected TV reports alleging that the historical monument of Kvirike Tsminda (Saint Kvirike) Church, located in the central-western Georgia's Borjomi municipality and its wall paintings, dating back to the 10th century, had been “completely” destroyed by the blaze erupted on August 19.

The Ministry made this statement in response to the opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV channel, which on Friday reported that the aforementioned monument had been destroyed by the fire.

The Ministry of Culture explained that with the assistance and efforts of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the monument was not damaged by the blaze and noted that the representative of the country’s National Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage, who has been monitoring the situation at the site of the disaster, said the fire sources have not been present in the vicinity of the Church and only smoke has been noticeable “from time to time”.

In its statement, the Ministry also called on the media to refrain from spreading “false and unverified information” and said these actions only served to “mislead the public”, adding the state agencies have been taking “all appropriate measures” to minimise the damage of cultural heritage monuments and strategic objects by natural disasters.