EU Flags Burned & more – 28th Dec 2023

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

On Monday, the 25th, the Government of Georgia approved a plan that addresses the nine conditions set by the European Commission for Georgia in November in order to get candidate status. The document outlines measures to counter disinformation regarding the EU, reduce polarization, enhance human rights protection, complete judicial reform, and ensure the independence of anti-corruption agencies. The measures also include improving alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, enhancing parliamentary oversight on the security sector, improving the action plan for de-oligarchization, and ensuring a free and competitive election process in twenty twenty four. It is somewhat of a “these good things should happen” but is short on specifics, let’s see if it goes anywhere, but we’re not holding our breath.

Speaking of sabotaging Georgia’s EU integration, on Friday the 22nd, Zurab Makharadze and Irakli Martinenko, leaders of the pro-Russian Conservative Movement, removed and burned the European Union flag at Tbilisi City Hall. The act was recorded in a video published by Alt-Info media, an outlet affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The video displayed the flag being taken down and burned without apparent opposition from City Hall security.

Irakli Martinenko was fined a thousand laris, around 370 US dollars, for the offense. Zurab Makharadze, who had been previously charged for a similar act earlier in the year, faces another administrative case. The perpetrators expressed solidarity with Lasha Sharukhia, detained for a similar incident on December 21. Alt-info continued with flag-burning actions, which are all for a Russian audience and Kremlin sponsored disinformation elsewhere, to give them some hook to pretend that there is some real anti-EU movement in Georgia.

On Tuesday the 26th, a crowd gathered at the Abkhazian parliament building in anticipation of a parliamentary meeting scheduled for Wednesday to ratify the transfer of the Pitsunda state dacha to Russian ownership. Russian officials have been exclusively using the renowned dacha for years. Despite signing the agreement in January twenty twenty two, Abkhazians protested the conditions outlined in the deal, particularly an error in the coordinates that revealed a significant part of the Pitsunda resort's territory was also going to Russia. Russia, in very Russian fashion, suggested ratifying the agreement and amending it at some point later, but the Abkhaz parliament rejected this due to public pressure. President Aslan Bzhania, advocating for the transfer, said his government had adjusted the coordinates. On Wednesday the 27th, despite protests, the Abkhazian parliament gathered for an extraordinary session to vote on the agreement and approved the transfer of the Pitsunda dacha to Russia.

The annual Georgian Ambassadors' Conference, which allegedly focused on Georgia as a candidate for the European Union, took place in Tbilisi from the 26 to the 28 of December. The event brings together diplomats, parliamentarians, and ministers. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili praised Georgia's EU candidacy as a significant achievement, crediting the ruling Otsneba party for transformative agreements and accomplishments since twenty twelve, clearly not what the EU said, but ok, whatever. He highlighted challenges like occupation and poverty while emphasizing the need to prioritize national interests in the face of difficulties. Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili expressed gratitude for the EU candidacy, noting its irreversibility and emphasizing ongoing reforms derived from society’s and national interests. Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili congratulated Georgia on EU candidacy, urging concerted efforts towards membership. EU officials, including Olivér Várhelyi and Gert Jan Köpmann, commended Georgian progress and pledged continued support.

On Monday, the 25th, Transparency International, or TI, a local watchdog, published the report " twenty twenty three Statistics of Violence against Georgian Media Representatives and the State's Response." The report documented around forty-five incidents of violence, harassment, and intimidation against journalists who criticized the ruling party in twenty twenty three. The Special Investigative Service opened fourteen criminal cases this year for obstructing journalists' professional activities: one is closed, four were sent to court, and nine are under investigation.

The report identified three main categories of violence: overt assaults, threats and intimidation attempts, and violence during protests. The report cites specific incidents, including attacks on media crews, threats, and attempts to discredit journalists, such as the physical assault on Misha Mshvildadze, an anchor and co-founder of Formula TV, in June in central Tbilisi. TI emphasizes the need for a fear-free and safe media landscape, calling for thorough investigations into crimes against journalists.

On Monday, the 25th, the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia launched criminal proceedings against three organizers, one member, and one legal entity associated with a transnational organized criminal group. Collaborating with Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, and German authorities, the investigation revealed that the group operated a call center in Georgia, targeting German citizens with false information on electronic trading opportunities. The group fraudulently appropriated victims' funds and laundered them through fictitious transactions, leading to purchasing properties, including real estate.

Criminal proceedings for money laundering have been initiated, with associated real estate confiscated. The organizers, already sentenced in Germany, face imprisonment, and the Georgian Prosecutor's Office aims to identify and expose other individuals and entities involved in similar activities.

On Friday the 22nd, Radio Free Liberty, an international media platform, published Nastasia Arabuli's article, "Georgia in the state party colors, how the country turned blue." The article talks about the excessive use of dark blue, the color of the ruling party Georgian Dream or Otsneba, in the visual communication of the Georgian government, which has raised concerns about blurring boundaries between the state and the party. The color dominates official posts, videos, events, subway seats, and even greetings, creating a symbiotic relationship between the party and the state. Such practices, observed in countries with prolonged single-party rule, aim to maintain control, limit pluralism, and foster loyalty.

You can take a look at some pictures in the article in Georgian linked in the show notes.

In some regional news, on Tuesday, the 26th, Energo-Pro Georgia, an electricity company, released a statement saying that its technical teams are working to restore electricity in West Georgia under a special regime due to the severe weather conditions. Although the company has restored power to some subscribers, the ongoing damage to energy infrastructure persists due to worsening weather. The company is incurring significant electricity supply losses, and numerous high-voltage lines are damaged despite a stable electricity supply in Daba Kharagauli and nearby villages. Energo-Pro Georgia is supplying limited power to regional centers such as Ambrolauri, Tsageri, Lentekhi, Tsalendjikha, and Chkhurotsku. The town of Mestia experienced a night without electricity, but the company has already restored the supply.

Onto some news from Adjara.

Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Adjara government, highlighted the achievements of twenty twenty threein a government session. Notably, the autonomous republic's consolidated budget neared a billion laris, around 370 million US dollars. Rizhvadze said the "Batumi without emergency houses," a government program to replace houses and apartment blocks in an emergency condition, aims to replace 300 buildings, offering modern homes for 3,000 families. Over 400 families will soon receive apartments, and 600 more will benefit from house rehabilitation projects given out in the year before a parliamentary election, practically a Georgian tradition.

On the economic front, Georgian Railways, a national railway company, has reportedly purchased electric locomotives worth 184 million laris, around sixty-eight million US dollars, from the Russian company Ural Locomotives. The tender process began in November twenty twenty three, and the winning bid from "Georgia" LLC, affiliated with the Russian company, matched the estimated cost.

"Georgia" LLC is owned by Gela Dzidzikashvili and directed by Irakli Chkheti. Ural Locomotives is part of the Russian Sinara Group, a diversified holding company not currently under international sanctions, except for its bank, Sinara, listed on the Ukrainian government's sanctions portal. The former president of Sinara Group, Dmitry Pumpyansky, is under sanctions from the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. Pumpyansky faced restrictions due to his company's collaboration with Russian authorities and his attendance at a meeting with Putin in February twenty twenty-two.

And finally, some important cat news.

The Agricultural University of Georgia's team of veterinary surgeons successfully performed an operation to fit a limb prosthesis on a cat for the first time in the country. They fitted a specially-made titanium prosthesis to Hyatt's hind leg, who is now recovering. The two surgeons who performed the operation are graduates of the university. This achievement is significant in animal care as it showcases the use of cutting-edge technology to improve the quality of life for animals in need.

Aaand that's it for this week!

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Nakhvamdis!