Georgian Reconciliation Minister highlights common history, traditions, unity with Abkhazians on Abkhazia Day
Akhvlediani welcomed the laying of the foundation for the construction of a church in the yard of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which will “become a symbol of unity and reconciliation” with Abkhazians and Ossetians, she said. Photo via Reconciliation Ministry press office
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Thea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, on Tuesday highlighted the unity with Abkhazian compatriots by “common history, culture and traditions” in her remarks on Abkhazia Day.
Akhvlediani welcomed the laying of the foundation for the construction of a church in the yard of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which will “become a symbol of unity and reconciliation” with Abkhazians and Ossetians, she said.
Photo via Reconciliation Ministry press office
We deeply believe that building trust and peace, reconciliation and development are a non-alternative way to achieve our common prosperity and a better future in the strong European state, for which are intended the Georgian Government’s peace initiatives and the state policy of reconciliation", the Minister noted.
With the blessing of the Catholicos Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church and by the initiative of the “Kananeli Foundation” and Abkhazia war veterans, the three-nave basilica church will be built to commemorate Georgians, Abkhazians and Ossetians who died in the armed conflicts in the 1990s and during the 2008 August war.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday hailed his Government's policy of reconciliation and confidence-building between communities affected by the conflict in the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region in remarks on Abkhazia Day.
Thea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, on Thursday said an updated strategy and action plan with regards to the country’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia regions and the conflict-affected population was expected to “give a new impetus” to the reconciliation process and confidence-building through a “depoliticised dialogue”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the Georgian Government’'s “clear and principled” message was that the “only way” to reintegrate the Russian-occupied regions of the country went through “peace, reconciliation and development”.
Today Georgia is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Abkhazia War, which ended with the territory becoming a breakaway region of Georgia and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
The presentations of archival publications and documentary films, prepared jointly by the Georgian and Abkhazian professionals, were hosted in Tbilisi, with Thea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, opening the event, the Office of the State Minister said on Friday.