GEORGIA: Russian Law & more – 11th Apr 2024

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 11th of April twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

The Georgian Dream or Otsneba is trying to pass a bill against LBGTQ+ values, and they are also trying to bring back the “Russian Law.”

This legislation concerns not only companies but also individuals. Receiving a salary from a foreign country classifies someone as an "agent." Currently, in Russia, Putin uses a similar law to suppress government criticism and send people to jail. The law faced massive backlash for potentially restricting civil society and media freedom. Previously, when Otsneba attempted to introduce it, substantial protests sparked, with rubber bullets and Molotov cocktails being hurled at the parliament, and the police using water cannons and tear gas.

The law aims to increase transparency but has been criticized for potentially imposing inspections and criminal penalties on NGOs and media outlets deemed as foreign agents.

With these new bills, Otsbena is turning away from the West, EU, and NATO.

After all that parliamentary back and forth, on Friday the 5th, civil activists called for a protest against the Russian Law outside the Parliament on Monday the 8th.

There was one major demonstration called “The Freedom March.” However, some people protested at Freedom Square, and others outside Parliament.

The demonstration was peaceful, with thousands of citizens taking to the streets.

On Monday the 8th, the police blocked the doors of the Parliament and did not allow journalists to go in. So some independent media outlets got together, calling out Otsneba for trying to bring back the "Russian law". They say it's a straight-up attempt to gag independent media and sideline civil society. They don’t want Georgia to turn into a mini-Russia without free media.

Despite the Venice Commission's recommendations, the Law passed the bureau stage and will continue to be discussed in the Legal Affairs Committee on Friday the 12th.

In more controversial bills; on Monday the 8th, the Parliament discussed a draft law called “On transparency of foreign influence.” This one's a sequel to last year's Russian Law. Otsneba's behind it again, aiming to tag non-profit and media people who get over 20% of their cash from outside Georgia as “organizations carrying out the interests of a foreign power.” They have to register and show where their money's coming from or face hefty fines of up to 25,000 lari (around 9,000 dollars).

However, this bill didn’t get very far as on the same day President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed it. Vetoing this kind of laws, aligns Georgia more closely with EU principles, which emphasize democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Such actions demonstrate Georgia's commitment to European values, moving away from Russian-style governance practices.

If you thought Otsneba was done with controversial moves, then you are about to get a surprise. The party decided to present a bill against gender quotas to Parliament. They're now on the same page with the Girchi party, because they think it's better to choose employees for their “know-how,” regardless of whether they’re men or women.

Back in twenty twenty, Otsneba wanted to increase the number of women in politics from 14% to 20% but apparently, they changed their minds.

In other news, on Monday the 8th, the Public Registry decided to hit the brakes on the conservative, pro-Russia Alt-Info party. The Public Registry directly refused the Alt-Info party's registration for the twenty twenty-four elections because the party didn’t have the required documents, including the congress's charter. On Tuesday the 4th, their leader was all over Facebook, bragging about being ready to run in the twenty twenty-four elections. But the Anti-Corruption Bureau stepped in, and because of these missing documents, Alt-Info cannot participate in the elections.

Since we mentioned Russia, on Tuesday, the 10th, the European Court of Human Rights pointed out that the country was mistreating Georgians in the territories it took over from Georgia. Russia is not letting people live in peace, and it is messing with their freedom and homes because of a fight back in two thousand eight. Now, the court is considering whether to make Russia pay up for what it did.

On Monday the 8th, there was an explosion at a shooting range inside the Battleground store on Bochorma Street in Tbilisi, killing three people. Three more are at the Burn Center, with one of them fighting for his life in intensive care. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation.

Moving on, on Wednesday the 11th, the Parliament's commission began interviewing candidates for the Central Election Commission chair and members. Three members stepped back due to concerns over a controversial bill and in solidarity with the President's representative. Now the commission has six members. Giorgi Kalandarishvili is the sole candidate for the chairman role, and four others are up for membership positions. Interviews for these critical roles in overseeing elections are underway.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Georgia welcomed around 7 million international travelers last year. They're predicting a cash flow of almost 5 billion dollars in twenty twenty-four. That's a 9% jump compared to last year. Plus, they're expecting more people, with the guest counter set to hit 8 million.

On a related note, on Monday the 8th, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced plans for a brand-new international airport in Tbilisi, right in the Vaziani neighborhood. With tourism booming, they're looking to increase passenger capacity to 19 million with room to grow. There had been a debate between upgrading the old airport for $900 million dollars or building a whole new one for a bit over $1 billion.

In some international relations, on Tuesday the 10th, Georgia and China made a big step forward by signing a visa-free travel agreement. Now, Georgians can visit China for up to thirty days without a visa.

On the same day, Tbilisi City Hall announced an expansion of its "Learn and Get Employed" initiative, aiming to match job seekers with businesses' needs for skilled labor. The program offers free specialized training in sixty-five areas, supporting up to 1,000 participants this year.

And to wrap up this edition, The Tbilisi Art Fair twenty twenty-four will showcase an exciting blend of artwork from five artists. The exhibition is a celebration of cultural dialogue and artistic diversity, featuring mythological explorations, narratives on migration, and personal creative journeys. The fair will run from the 11th to the 14th of April.

And that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

We want to invite you to take a look at one of Rorshok's other projects. The Daily Knowledge is a daily pocket newspaper that comes out Monday through Friday. It is in our Ourzine format, a little booklet that you have to print in order to read. In the Daily Knowledge ourzine you’ll find a collection of interesting newsletters and selected articles that take about an hour to read. Visit rorshok.com/ourzines/thedailyknowledge/ to find the latest editions. The link will also be in the show notes.

Nakhvamdis!