22:00, 13 July 2011

Georgian Labourites call on confessions to abnegate legal status

The Labour Party of Georgia sent an appeal to all religious confessions in Georgia to renounce using the new rules of the law granting legal status to religious associations.

Earlier Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Labour Party, appealed to the Parliament of Georgia with a similar statement. He urged to withdraw the amendments adopted in the Civil Code, defining the status of religious associations.

On July 5 the Parliament of Georgia unanimously adopted the amendments in the Civil Code, providing assignment of legal status to religious associations having the similar status in the member countries of the Council of Europe.
According to the Labour Party, in the future property disputes between religious associations will lead to religious conflicts, the "News-Georgia" reports.

Earlier the representatives of a range of oppositional parties and NGOs also expressed negative attitude to the Georgian Parliament's decision, the "Georgia Online" writes.

"The Coalition for European Georgia", to the contrary, welcomes the assignment of legal entity status to religious organisations.