TBILISI. Feb 26 (Interfax) - The Georgian government on Wednesday approved a draft version of President Eduard Shevardnadze's decree on the protection of the rights of religious minorities.

"Religious discrimination has increased considerably since Georgia gained independence," Shevardnadze said. "Religious discrimination should be done away with as this phenomenon is incompatible with Georgia's independent status."

In addition, the Georgian Orthodox Church should pay more attention to issues relating to religious tolerance in society, he said.

For the past two years, Georgia has been criticized by the Council of Europe and other international organizations, as well as official representatives of practically all the leading countries of the world, for violating the rights of religious minorities.

According to Georgia's human rights organizations, over 100 pogroms and attacks of representatives of religious minorities were registered in Georgia in the past three years. However, the Georgian law enforcement agencies have not taken any measures to punish the perpetrators of the attacks, human rights organizations say.

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