Day: January 13, 2024

Russian naval base in Ochamchire may become operational already this year, says a Russian state media source citing the head of the so-called “security council” of occupied Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba. “Construction work in Ochamchire Bay, where the permanent base for Russian Navy ships will be located, is not yet underway; it is in the process of project development. But it may become operational already this year, although it is difficult for me to speak about any concrete dates,” Sergei Shamba was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti. Last year, since Ukraine repeatedly targeted Russia’s Black Sea Fleet based on the annexed Crimean peninsula, Vladimir Putin decided to relocate its depleted fleet to safer harbors further to the east, including in occupied Abkhazia.  

Polish Ambassador to Georgia Mariusz Maszkiewicz claimed that the foreign ministry had unofficially scolded him following his calls on the Georgian government to close the museum of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Gori. “The Georgian Foreign Ministry tried to put me in my place. But my response included a very rude word, and I won’t talk about it here,” said the Polish Ambassador in a video podcast of SOVA News, adding that his reaction could not have been otherwise.

The Human Rights Watch, an international human rights monitoring organization, issued its annual report containing a chapter on Georgia, according to which the country’s human rights record remained uneven in 2023. The report mentions the government’s failed attempt to pass the so-called “foreign agents” law in March 2023, which would have undermined the freedom of expression. The HRW report also highlights law enforcement abuses, restrictions and attacks on media freedom, the lack of inclusion of the LGBT community in the National Human Rights Strategy, unfair labor conditions, and other problematic issues.

The Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili confirmed that he had dismissed the Director of the National Library, Giorgi Kekelidze, and offered this position to Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the son of the first Georgian President, Zviad Gamsakhurdia.  “The National Library does not and should not have anything to do with politics. Personnel decisions related to the organization’s management are at the sole discretion of the Speaker,” said Shalva Papuashvili.