GEORGIA: A pro-European Demonstration & more – 6th Feb 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 6th of February twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Sunday, the 2nd, pro-European demonstrators planned to block a highway at one of Tbilisi’s entrances. Several days before, when this plan was announced, the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi quickly added highways to the list of strategically important sites, making blocking them a criminal offense punishable by a prison sentence of up to four years.

A massive number of police officers were mobilized to stop demonstrators from carrying out their plan. At first, they allowed people to march along the edge of the road, but after hours of protesting, the police started to arrest people. They were verbally aggressive toward women and used excessive force when arresting men. Khareba, the head of the Special Task Unit, swore at the crowd through his car's megaphone and hit one of the arrested protesters.

Over thirty people were arrested, eight of them under criminal charges, including Gigi Ugulava, the former mayor of Tbilisi.

Speaking of Khareba, on Thursday, the 30th, Misha Kavelashvili, the president of the Kotsebi, awarded the Order of Merit to several high-ranking law enforcement officials, including sanctioned figures like Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal affairs and Khareba himself. According to the government’s website, they received the honor for their exceptional contribution to strengthening law and order.

Prime Minister Kobakhidze announced in December that he wanted to award them, right after the massive crackdown on pro-European demonstrators, when hundreds of people were beaten, tortured and arrested. Since then, the U.S., the U.K., and the EU have sanctioned most of these individuals. Both Khareba and Gomelauri were also listed in the U.S. Magnitsky List, which targets foreign government officials involved in human rights abuses by freezing their assets and barring them from entering the U.S.

On that note about Kobakhidze, he approved of President Trump's order to suspend foreign aid funding for ninety days, including programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development or USAID. On Friday, the 31st, he expressed his support for the suspension and hoped it would last much longer than three months.

While USAID primarily funded government programs, including the creation of Parliament’s website, the ruling party was angry that some funds went to NGOs critical of them. The Kotsebi says that the money was used to destabilize Georgia and train groups in tactics for overthrowing the government. However, there is no evidence to support this.

On Wednesday, the 5th, the ruling party voted to revoke the parliamentary mandates of forty-nine opposition members, representing three out of the four opposition parties elected during the parliamentary elections. These parties refused to recognize the election results and requested termination of their mandates in November.

The only opposition party that did not submit a mandate cancellation request was Gogi Gakharia’s For Georgia or Sakartvelostvis. However, Gakharia has refused to enter parliament, denying it any legitimacy. Formally, his party is the only reason the parliament is not technically a one-party body. This may change soon, as according to the law, if his party does not begin attending parliament by mid-spring, their mandates will also be terminated.

In another move to fully consolidate power, Mamuka Mdinaradze from the Kotsebi announced plans to introduce new laws regulating the media. While details remain vague, Mdinaradze stated that the law would establish standards for media objectivity and journalistic ethics, along with institutional mechanisms to monitor and enforce these standards. It will also limit media funding from foreign sources.

Mdinaradze added that work on the law would begin immediately, following British standards and legislation. The foreign funding restrictions are primarily aimed at stifling critical voices from online outlets that rely heavily on Western grants.

In international news. On Friday, the 31st, Robert Fico, the Slovak Prime Minister, said that Mamuka Mamulashvili, the leader of the Georgian Legion, which fights in Ukraine against Russia, is behind anti-government protests in Slovakia. Fico stated that Mamulashvili is connected to the opposition party Progressive Slovakia and is helping them organize a coup against him.

Mamulashvili denied any involvement, calling the allegations baseless and said that they were part of a Russian smear campaign. Slovakia’s Interior Minister banned Mamulashvili and people connected to the Georgian Legion from entering the country. Mamulashvili says that he last visited Slovakia six months ago and rejects any accusations of destabilizing its politics.

Also on Friday, four members of the UK House of Lords, including Lord Mike German and Lord Don Tougue, called for sanctions against Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, urging the British government to adopt a firm stance against those who undermine democracy and human rights. They criticized Ivanishvili's role in promoting Russian influence in Georgia and his involvement in suppressing democratic reforms. The call follows a similar move in the U.S. where sanctions were imposed on Ivanishvili.

If the UK imposes sanctions, over ninety-five companies linked to his family, many registered in offshore territories, would be affected. So far this proposal has garnered the support of twenty-five MPs.

Kan Taniya, a senior official from the Embassy of Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia in Russia, told the Russian news agency TASS that after the formation of a new world order is finished, more friendly countries will recognize Abkhazia's independence. He said that the current global geopolitical situation is leading to a rise in new spheres of influence. Some countries are aligning with Russia, while others are joining the Western bloc. Taniya expressed hope that Abkhazia will establish new relationships with countries joining Russia’s bloc.

Russia recognized Abkhazia’s independence in August of two thousand eight, followed by the recognition from Venezuela, Nauru, Nicaragua, and Syria.

More about Abkhazia as on Friday, the 31st, leaders of four opposition parties signed a joint statement addressed to Syria’s new leadership, urging them to revoke their recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent republics. Syria had recognized these breakaway regions under Bashar al-Assad at the request of his ally, President Putin. The opposition also criticized the ruling party for failing to capitalize on the change of leadership in Syria and not seizing the opportunity to challenge the recognition.

200 Workers employed on the construction of a highway in Georgia’s easternmost region of Kakheti went on strike, protesting unpaid wages. Demonstrators in the Sagarejo municipality say they haven’t been paid for two to four months, and don’t know when the debt will be settled. Construction work on the highway has stopped.

The project is funded by the World Bank, with a total cost of over 270 million lari, which is about 95 million dollars, and is expected to be completed this year. The Road Department has not yet commented on the ongoing issue, saying that they are still investigating the situation.

On Tuesday, the 4th, a child ended up in the hospital after drinking Bakuriani mineral water, which is suspected to have caused poisoning. The National Food Agency quickly started an investigation. The hospital confirmed the incident but dismissed rumors that started circulating on social media about the mass intoxication of dozens of children, clarifying that only one child was affected and he was currently in stable condition.

The company that owns the mineral water tested other bottles from the same batch, finding no issues. They also reviewed the entire production process and confirmed that no foreign substances were involved. The Food Agency is still inspecting the water bottling plant and conducting lab tests on the samples.

Wrapping up with cultural news, the movie by Georgian filmmaker and photographer Anka Gujabidze Temo Re won the short film program at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands, also receiving a special award from Dutch film critics. The film is based on the debut novel Courier's Stories by actor and writer Temo Rekhviashvili. It combines elements of both fiction and documentary, told through a black-and-white photo montage format.

The story follows Temo, an actor who, due to financial struggles, works as a courier in Tbilisi. Throughout the day, he witnesses poverty, injustice, corruption, and alienation, which later manifest in disturbing visions at night.

During the award ceremony on Monday, the 3rd, Gujabidze talked about the tense political situation in Georgia, Russia’s imperial ambitions and the persecution of critical voices in her country.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Nakhvamdis!