Gelati committee's 'confrontational' statements do not help rehabilitation process, NGO head

Statements by the Gelati Rehabilitation Temporary Committee are "confrontational" and "attacking" and do little to encourage the rehabilitation process, according to Tornike Baratashvili, founder of Europe Our Home.

"Many such statements have been made by the committee before and, unfortunately, their content is confrontational and attacking, and does not really encourage this process," Baratashvili told Front News.

He said the committee's responses to criticism largely focused on arguments against individual claims rather than addressing specific questions and problems surrounding the rehabilitation of the Gelati Monastery complex.

Baratashvili said the situation at Gelati was "difficult and concerning", but argued that the process was already serious enough and did not need additional exaggeration.

He criticised what he described as the committee's tendency to respond to claims such as "Gelati is collapsing" or "it is covered with plastic" by simply rejecting those statements, rather than addressing the wider issues raised about the site's condition.

"Their actions are without arguments, they assess the issue superficially," Baratashvili said, adding that the problems surrounding Gelati were "much more serious and numerous".

The Gelati Rehabilitation Temporary Committee has said that certain permanent groups were deliberately misleading the public and that claims concerning the temporary roofing and the condition of the frescoes were untrue.

The committee maintained that rehabilitation work is being carried out in line with World Heritage Centre recommendations and international standards, with the involvement of foreign experts.