GEORGIA: Russian Law Passed & more – 18th Apr 2024

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 18th of April twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Monday the 15th, things got pretty heated in Georgia at the session of the legal committee. When Mamuka Mdinaradze, member of the Georgian Dream or Otsbeba, was pitching the draft law “On the transparency of foreign influence” to the deputies, Aleko Elisashvili, the head of the Citizens party, called him “Russian” and smacked right on the head!

The Russian law is about keeping tabs on non-commercial organizations and media that get over 20% of their funds from abroad, tagging them as groups that could be swaying under foreign influence. Everyone tagged needs to register and show where their money's coming from every year.

Going back to Thursday the 12th, over thirty NGOs together with citizens were up in arms, accusing Otsneba of trying to pivot Georgia away from its Western alliances. Kakha Kaladze, Tbilisi’s Mayor and Otsneba’s general secretary, recently made a post on Facebook, saying, “No union is worth giving up the interests of my country and people.” However, society is highlighting a breach in the Georgian Constitution, which mandates the country's alignment with the EU and NATO. They're blasting Otsneba’s Russian law push and anti-EU talk as betrayals of national commitments.

On Monday the 15th, while the Parliament was discussing the controversial draft law, people outside filled Rustaveli Avenue and staged a rally called “Yes to Europe! No to the Russian law!”

After Monday's rally, the European Parliament weighed in on the controversial law. MEP Viola von Cramon didn't mince words when she said on Twitter that this law is a direct threat to Georgia's EU aspirations. According to her, it’s a move that primarily benefits "the Oligarch and his handlers in the Kremlin."

Hot on the heels of von Cramon's warning, President Salome Zurabishvili also tweeted against the Russian law. She wrote, “Georgia will not surrender to resovietization!,”

Following President Zurabishvili's defiant stance, the situation on Rustaveli Avenue escalated dramatically on Tuesday the 16th. During the protests, tensions boiled over into the night. By 9:30 pm, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that eleven protesters had been arrested on administrative charges. Even though the demonstration was peaceful at first, it grew more intense because, out of nowhere, law enforcement resorted to tear gas and water cannons.

Amidst this chaos, the Public Defender of Georgia has called on the ministry to protect the rights to freedom of assembly, and expression , urging adherence to international standards in the use of force. The debate over the controversial draft law was moved to the next day due to the protests.

On Wednesday the 17th, the Parliament passed the draft law with eight three votes.

On the same day, after a meeting with President Salome Zurabishvili, Paweł Herczyński, the EU ambassador to Georgia, said that passing this law would not bring the country any closer to the European Union. He warned it might do just the opposite by complicating relations.

The EU reacted swiftly to the introduction of this draft law, with immediate statements from the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security. Even Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, has openly criticized the law, emphasizing that it strays from EU norms and values.

But let’s go back to MP Aleko Elisashvili for a minute. On Thursday the 18th, he said that the police seriously roughed him up. He's saying he ended up with a fractured rib after a clash at the rally near the government administration. According to Elisashvili, it all went down when he bumped into Vazha Siradze, the head of the patrol police. He alleges that under Siradze's watch, a few officers dragged him off to an office where they knocked him down and kicked him.

In another move that’s stirring up conversations, on Friday the 12th, President Salome Zurabishvili granted a pardon to Lazare Grigoriadis, a young man entangled in last year's protests. Grigoriadis had been sentenced to nine years in prison for incidents during the demonstrations in March twenty twenty-three where Otsneba wanted to pass a similar bill. He was found guilty by the Tbilisi City Court of harming a policeman and destroying state property, including throwing Molotov cocktails at the police and setting a police car on fire, leading to significant state budget damages. However, in a surprising twist, President Zurabishvili declared on a live TV broadcast that punishing Grigoriadis for nine years was excessive and gave him a pardon.

Moving on to some sports news, on Tuesday the 16th, Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced a new recreational space in Gldani Lake. There will be foot and bicycle paths around the small lake.

Also on Tuesday the 16th, a travel media outlet from the UK called TimeOut named Stepantsminda, a quaint town tucked away in Georgia, one of the most beautiful small towns in the world. The historic place has been around since the sixth century, where visitors can check out the Kazbegi National Park which has waterfalls and hot springs.

On Thursday the 18th, Georgia stepped up its energy game with a little help from USAID, leading to the country's first-ever floating solar plant over in the village of Lemshveniera, in the Gardabani region. It will power nearby fruit orchards! This renewable energy project will boost the local economy and help those orchards bloom. The USAID has several renewable energy projects lined up in Georgia to create a greener, more secure energy future.

And to close this edition, on Friday the 20th, tune in to Channel 4, as The BBC is premiering a documentary that dives deep into Georgia's tourism potential— a marketing push by the Georgian National Tourism Administration. Who's telling the story? Historian and TV presenter Bettany Hughes. The film, titled “Georgia Civilization Cup,” will feature Georgia’s UNESCO sites, archaeological finds, and iconic castles and towers. Bettany will even dive into the Georgian alphabet!

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

Do you know that besides the Georgia Update, we also do others? Our latest ones are the Arctic Update, about the area north of the Arctic Circle, and the Ocean Update, about the 70% of the world covered in salt water. The other ones are all country updates, we have a selection of countries from Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. Check roroshok.com/updates to see the full list. Find the link in the show notes as well.

Nakhvamdis!