Photographs: Lori - Historical Georgia? Zurabishvili's Publication

The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, shared a publication from a tourism company on her personal Facebook page, inviting tourists to visit the "historical region of Lori in Georgia" on November 10. She encourages tourists to "remember and respect the eternal, mystical Great Georgia." This was reported by Arthur Mirzoyan, the president of the Armenian Community of Georgia, on his Facebook page.

"This time, I need to address a publication shared by Salome Zurabishvili on her personal page (not an official one) from a tourism company. On November 10 of this year, the company invites tourists to visit the 'historical region of Lori in Georgia' and offers tourists to 'remember and honor the eternal, mystical Great Georgia.' The announcement also clarifies that this company regularly initiates such 'historical tourism' activities. I would not have paid much attention to all of this if the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, had not shared this on her personal page (which many confuse for an official page; here’s another piece of evidence, a link to a FactCheck.ge article where this page is mentioned as the president’s personal page: FactCheck.ge). In my deep conviction, all those who organize such events and accompany tourists, without knowing what stories they tell, should be banned from entering Armenia, as this brings about the hatred toward Armenians we are fighting against in Georgia.

Later, the tourism company deleted the controversial announcement from its Facebook page, but the President of Georgia did not. Just a few days earlier, the president stated in an interview with the Associated Press that elections were rigged, while spreading false information by using the term 'Armenian carousel,' which caused outrage among some Armenians living in Georgia, as well as in Armenia and the diaspora. Considering the current post-election situation in Georgia, I personally decided to refrain from labeling the president's statement, but when the country's president shares such ideas and moreover allows herself to publish such an unworthy post, it raises justifiable outrage and a series of questions," he wrote.