More than 700 teachers from across Georgia have signed a joint statement expressing solidarity with their colleague Lado Apkhazava, the winner of the National Teacher Award, condemning the May 5 physical attack on him, and calling on law enforcement authorities to conduct a “timely and effective” investigation into the case.
On Easter Sunday, media outlets reported that Lado Apkhazava and his son were attacked and physically assaulted by several men near his apartment in the town of Lanchkhuti in the Western Georgian region of Guria. Apkhazava claims that he was targeted because of his publicly critical stance over the Foreign Agents Law and his participation in protest rallies. Police has launched an investigation.
In the statement issued on May 6, the teachers call the attack “a dangerous precedent which encourages violence against teachers with an active civic position.” According to them, a teacher should be a citizen with high civic responsibility, giving example to the students. “Such a person is Lado Abkhazava.”
“We consider violence against any person because of their civic or other position to be categorically unacceptable. Turning a blind eye to violence breeds violence, and no one is safe in such an environment,” the statement reads.
The statement sets an important precedent as teachers, along with some other groups, are widely seen as a segment of society manipulated by the ruling Georgian Dream party to show support for the government, especially during election periods. In the latest such episode, teachers were reportedly bussed in from across the country to attend the Georgian Dream ‘counter-rally’ on 29 April.