Demonstrations Against Russian Agents & more– 28th Sep 2023

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 28th of September twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

We start this week's show with protests.

On Friday, the 22nd, a coalition of opposition members and activists gathered in front of the Parliament building to hold a peaceful 'Against Russian Agents' rally and demanded the prosecution of Otar Parstskhaladze, the former Prosecutor General with close ties to Bidzina Ivanishvili. Accusations of Parstskhaladze having connections with Russian agents have surfaced after the U.S. government imposed sanctions on him for implementing policies that benefited Russia. The protesters carried a banner that read 'Arrest the Russian Agent Otar Parstkhaladze' as they urged Georgian authorities to take action against those who undermine Georgia's sovereignty. Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the Georgian Dream or Otsneba faction, said that the law enforcement agency has already interrogated Partskhaladze.

On Friday, the 22nd, a group of people assaulted Irakli Edz-gveradze, a member of Tbilisi City Council from the United National Movement or Natsebi, near his home in the Gldani district as he returned from a Council meeting. Edz-gveradze said that there was a correlation between the attack and his altercation with Otsneba member Kote Zarnadze, which took place during the Council session earlier that day. Following the attack, some Natsebi leaders confronted the police in Gldani district, leading to the detention of Natsebi members, Nika Melia, Bacho Dolidze, and Zviad Kuprava. The Prosecutor's Office charged six people with gang violence against Edz-gveradze. The Prosecutor's Office plans to request an extension of the defendants' preventive detention.

More grim news…

On Wednesday, the 27th, Georgia marked the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi. The government administration has reported that they lowered the state flags on all administrative buildings in the entire territory of Georgia to honor the memory of those who died in the war in Abkhazia. The war in Abkhazia between Russia-backed Abkhazian separatists and ethnic Georgians broke out in August nineteen ninety-two and ended in September nineteen ninety-three. Tens of thousands were killed and over 250 thousand ethnic Georgians became refugees.

On Thursday, the 21st, Parliament passed The Defense Code with eighty votes. One of the main components of the new code is the overhaul of compulsory military service. From twenty twenty-five, all conscripts will come under the sole jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. Right now, conscripts serve one year as security guards at different governmental facilities across the country. According to the new code, the fee for postponing conscription will substantially increase, rising from two thousand to 10,000 laris, that is, from 770 to four thousand US dollars. The watchdogs criticized the new law for only allowing clergy of the Georgian Orthodox Church to defer military service, discriminating against other religions.

On Thursday, the 21st, despite President Zurabishvili's objection, The Parliament chose Nana Keinishvili and Teimuraz Khomeriki to be part of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia or NBG. This move has sparked controversy due to its recent modification of the regulation on international sanctions enforcement. Critics argue that the appointment of Keinishvili and Khomerikia and Otsneba’s amendment of the regulation aim to shield former Prosecutor General Otar Partshkhaladze, who is currently under U.S. sanctions. All international financial institutions and most importantly the EU are very concerned at the now not-at-all-independent central bank. Never in economic history has central bank takeovers ended well.

On Friday, the 22nd, Prime Minister Garibashvili addressed the 78th UN General Assembly session, reaffirming Georgia's commitment to UN values despite the shifting geopolitical landscape. He called for international involvement in the "Geneva International Discussions" and the full implementation of the two thousand eight ceasefire agreement with Russia. The Prime Minister highlighted Georgia's economic achievements, focusing on remarkable GDP growth (which by the way is entirely due to Russians) and top rankings in the rule of law, economic freedom, and safety. He talked about Georgia's "Vision twenty thirty - Development Strategy," and about comprehensive reforms, education, social welfare, and digital literacy. During his speech, Garibashvili extended unity to Abkhazian and Ossetian communities, highlighted Georgia's EU integration efforts, and spoke about the EU Association Agreement, and the Visa-Free regime. So yea. A bunch of blah blah blah.

President Zourabichvili is continuing to meet European presidents, on Monday the 25th she visited Estonia and met with President Alar Karis. In a social media post, the Estonian President expressed support for Georgia's European aspirations, stating that Estonia is ready to provide support and share its experience with Georgia. He said that these coming weeks were crucial for Georgia's journey towards EU candidate status.

On Tuesday the 26th, President Zourabichvili met with Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of Latvia. She thanked her Latvian counterpart for standing with Georgia over the years and helping the country on its European path. She also announced that she would have a meeting with the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda in the coming days.

On Friday, the 22nd, Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, stated that two bidders in the tender for building the port of Anaklia have advanced to the proposal submission stage. The Swiss-Luxembourg company and the Chinese-Singaporean consortium both fulfilled the qualification requirements. Davitashvili pointed out that no Russian companies participated in the competition. He said the state will control the port's critical infrastructure. Davitashvili did not disclose the names of the companies that passed to the next stage due to what he called confidentiality. Keep in mind that Bidzina personally sabotaged Anaklia port while investing in Poti port.

On Tuesday, the 26th, Georgia enforced a ban on re-exporting EU-made cars to Russia and Belarus. The ban applies to vehicles with an engine capacity of more than nineteen huindred cubic centimeters. The EU's 11th package of sanctions against Russia led to the introduction of this ban. Likewise, since the 1st of August, Belarus and Russia have been banned from re-exporting US-made cars. The Revenue Service said that Georgia will continue to take appropriate measures in line with international sanctions.

On Monday, the 25th, the National Statistics Office published a report on Georgia's electricity export. In the January-August twenty twenty-three period, Georgia sold a record high of over 1.3 megawatt-hours of electricity, valued at 94 million U.S. dollars. There was a 17.6 million increase compared to the same period in twenty twenty-two. Neighboring countries were major buyers, with Turkey leading with 84 million dollars, followed by Azerbaijan and Armenia.

On Friday, the 22nd, a protest rally took place near the city hall in Martvili, located in Samegrelo but near Western Imereti. Protesters demanded the suspension of a construction at Baldi Canyon. They urged authorities to submit a petition to the Agency of Protected Areas. Aleksandre Khurtsilava, Deputy Mayor, said that, according to the law, they couldn’t take into account the population's request. Rally participants organized a car procession in Martvil and nearby villages, announcing large-scale protests. "Canyon 350" holds a twenty-year ownership of Baldi Canyon. Protesters chanted: "The river belongs to the people," "Stop the construction," and "Odabade is not for sale."

We end this week's show with a Friedrich Ebert Foundation study on Georgian youth.

On Monday, the 25th, the Foundation published a study called "Generation of Independent Georgia: In Between Hopes and Uncertainties." According to the study, the majority of young people in Georgia are not interested in politics. However, individuals who have a job and those who have higher education tend to exhibit more interest in politics than those with secondary education and people who are unemployed. 20% think that Georgia has no close friends. The top countries perceived as friends are Ukraine, the US, and Turkey. 84% of respondents said Russia is the biggest threat to Georgia's statehood.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

This Georgia Rorshok Update is one of the country-specific podcasts we do.

But we've been experimenting with other topics, and we have a new show about the Arctic, where we update you on everything going on North of the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Update is the third of the new series, along with the Ocean and Multilateral Updates.

You can look for them in your podcast listening app of choice or follow the links in the show notes! Tell your friends!

Nakhvamdis!