The Ministry of Culture issued a new statement responding to international criticism of an earlier announcement that it intended to “remove” Armenian “forgeries” from churches on its territory.
The minister of culture said that a working group will be set up to identify what he called “Armenian forgery” from churches, putting into practice a pseudoscientific theory that denies the churches’ Armenian origin.
For the most part, pro-government forces did not sympathize with the protests, but they also didn’t like the idea of Russia and Armenia getting involved in suppressing them.
Azerbaijanis, the largest ethnic minority in Georgia, say that Tbilisi neglects their culture while Baku tries to co-opt it. Now they are claiming it for themselves.