GEORGIA: The Controversial Law & more – 9th May 2024

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 9th of May twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Thursday the 7th, Anri Okhanashvili, who heads the Legal Issues Committee in Parliament, shared the schedule on Facebook on what's going to be discussed at the next parliamentary meeting and asked for peaceful discussions, especially during the Easter Holy Week. On Friday the 10th, they'll talk about some laws that will help Georgia get closer to joining the European Union. According to the Georgian Dream or Otsneba, these laws are the changes the European Commission wants to see. Then, on Monday, the 13th, Otsneba will go over the "Transparency of Foreign Influence" bill for its third reading.

After the announcement of the Parliament's plans, on Thursday the 3rd, people against the "Russian Law" called for a huge demonstration on Saturday the 11th. They're telling everyone who hasn't protested yet to mark their calendars and show up big time.

These past weeks, protests have been heating up all over central Tbilisi, with people near the Parliament and Heroes’ Square teaming up and blocking traffic at Heroes’ Square. The police have been all over these spots, and the air has been buzzing with chants of "Georgia" and "No to the Russian law!"

Moving on to Friday the 3rd, Members of the European Parliament like David McAllister, Sven Mikser, and Marina Kaljurand urged the Georgian government to drop the controversial Russian law. They said this law is a big roadblock on Georgia’s journey to the European Union and NATO because it messes with media and civil groups. They also pointed out the recent roughness against peaceful protesters and the opposition.

Following the European Parliament's concerns, Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili shared her worries that same Friday, saying that the controversial draft law wasn’t the only problem: Georgia still had to deal with the Russian government's influence in the country. In an interview with the Deutsche Welle, a German media outlet, she called out the law for being a Russian trick to clamp down on civil society and accused some in Georgia of acting like Russians while making it look like Georgia’s Western partners were the bad guys.

After President Zurabishvili aired her concerns, on Monday the 7th, the drama in Georgia’s politics cranked up as over thirty Members of the European Parliament stepped up to call out Georgia's government. They addressed a letter to Josep Borrell, telling him to put Georgia’s EU candidate status on hold. The MEPs are fed up with the Georgian authorities’ undemocratic moves, like pushing a 'Russian-style' law and squashing peaceful protests.

On Wednesday the 8th, Shalva Papuashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament, announced that Otsneba is planning to set up a public list to track people they say are involved in illegal acts such as threats and blackmail, or who openly support such behaviors. The aim is to make sure that society and the state don’t overlook these activities. Papuashvili says the recent protests against the Russian law, mostly driven by the youth, have been rough, and the list is also meant to protect the police and the rights of citizens. Plus, they’ll use the list to see what people are doing on social media. Papuashvili defends making this list by pointing out that there’s a difference between criminal acts and certain actions that are not criminal but might still push or threaten others. He says that these last actions also need to be responded.

However, on the same day, Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, said that Otsneba’s list was "shameful" and a sign of the government's "weakness and internal collapse."

On Monday the 6th, Lado Apkhazava, a well-known national teacher's award winner, was attacked near his home in Lanchkhuti. The attackers also hurt his twenty-year-old son. Apkhazava is known for his active role in rallies against the Russian law and thinks his protest work might have sparked the attack. He's pretty shaken but mostly okay right now.

In response to the attack, the group behind the National Teacher’s Award spoke up. They said the reason behind the attack was his bold stand at protests. They’re pushing for a fast and serious investigation to make sure people like Lado who stand up and speak out don’t just get left hanging without justice.

On Wednesday the 8th, on the streets of Tbilisi, politicians got roughed up by unknown attackers that many believe were sent by Otsneba to deter people from protesting.

Dimitri Chikovani from Natsebi got jumped right outside his apartment in Sololaki district. Five people beat him up. A security camera caught it all, and he ended up in the hospital.

That same night, Lasha Ghvinianidze, who helps organize bikers’ marches for the protests, also took a bad hit. He had to go to the hospital to get stitches for cuts on his head and lip.

And it didn't stop there. Gia Japaridze, a former diplomat and a professor, who’s also the brother of Zurab Japaridze from the Girchi party, was beaten up in his own yard.

Along with these beatings, lots of citizens, including people from the media and civil groups, got phone calls threatening them and their families. The Georgian Young Lawyers Association thinks these calls might be using government info to target people.

While political heat was on the rise, a sad update came from Svaneti. Following the tragic event that took place on the 2nd of May, after days of research, rescuers found the body of the third person missing in the Enguri River. Recall that a car with three people inside fell into the Enguri River near Nakra village in the Mestia municipality. This discovery follows days of intense search efforts along the river, with local residents joining rescue teams.

Some news from the Georgian borders. On Wednesday the 8th, Tristan Mushkiashvili and Valeri Tetruashvili, who were unfairly held by Russian occupation forces near Dirbi in Kareli municipality, are now free. Unfortunately, a third person detained with them is still being held, but there’s a strong push to get them out. The State Security Service of Georgia is working with the EU Monitoring Mission and keeping international partners in the loop through the Geneva International Discussions. They’ve made it clear that Russia’s the one to blame for any trouble in the occupied areas. Meanwhile, Georgia’s government teamed up with global organizations to get all Georgian citizens wrongly imprisoned back home from these occupied zones.

And to close this edition, on Thursday the 2nd, a new book hit the shelves, sparking big conversations. 'Georgia Against Stalin' was written by Giorgi Kandelaki, a former politician. In his book, he shows how Russia's bringing back old stories about Stalin to make him sound like a hero, especially to people in Georgia. According to Kandelaki’s book, Georgia stood up to Stalin’s tough rules when fighting for freedom. He says that many in Georgia still haven’t really come to terms with what Stalin did, particularly during those early days when Georgia was struggling to be free and democratic.

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

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Nakhvamdis!