Day: April 19, 2024
The Armenian pavilion at 2024 Venice Biennale was officially opened to public on April 18.
Attending the official opening ceremony were Daniel Danielyan, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Educaton, Science, Culture and Sports, Armenia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy Tsovinar Hambardzumyan, Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Venice Sargis Sarukhanyan, sponsors of the pavilion, Vigen Badalyan, Executive Director of the Cafesjian Museum Foundation, and Vigen Badalyan, founder of the Fastex company.
Welcoming the attendees, Deputy Minister Daniel Danielyan emphasized the importance of Armenia’s participation in the Venice Biennale. “This platform is one of the cultural arteries of Europe, where interesting projects are presented. The work of artist Nina Khemchyan is not only about the spiritual, but also about the cosmic, human nature and perception of the world. Nina Khemchyan invites us to think about the past, present and future.”
The Echo exhibition at the National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia, conceptualized by Paris-based Armenian artist Nina Khemchyan, melds Medieval Armenian heritage with universal spiritual principles, reconsidered in the realm of nowness. It features two main artworks, deeply interconnected. Influenced by Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet and a key cultural figure, Khemchyan’s work reflects a profound engagement with his legacy.
A crucial element is her encounter with singer Hasmik Baghdasaryan- Dolukhanyan, whose renditions of Mashtots’ fifth-century sharakans (sacred chants of repentance) inspired the creation of eleven blue ceramic spheres, each adorned with golden incrustations featuring the texts of these chants. These spheres, alongside Baghdasaryan-Dolukhanyan’s a capella performance, blend sculpture with music, transforming words into visual codes.
The exhibition also includes Khemchyan’s Seven Deadly Sins, a 50-metre paper roll divided into segments representing each sin, using black ink on white paper to symbolize moral dichotomy. This work invites meditative reflection, complementing the Echo project in exploring themes of human sin and spiritual redemption, which are especially essential and vital nowadays.
Twelve of the 13 protesters detained by the police during the April 16-17 protests against the “foreign influence” law were “severely beaten,” according to the monitoring of the Democracy Research Institute (DRI), a watchdog.
“The detainees have serious body injuries, including concussions, traumatic arthritis of the jaw, injuries to upper and lower limbs, multiple bruises, contusions, cuts, lacerations,” the DRI said in its April 19 statement. The DRI also said that two of the detainees remain hospitalized in serious condition. The watchdog added that people’s personal belongings were lost or damaged during the arrests, which were carried out with “unlawful and illegitimate” use of force by the riot police.
The DRI also noted that the detentions were routinely extended from 24 to 48 hours, which “served the purpose of punishing the demonstrators, prolonging the severe physical pain inflicted on them and/or an attempt to hide their injuries from society.” The Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia authorizes the exceptional extension of the 24-hour detention period before the detainee is presented to the court if more time is required to find evidence.
DRI said the detainees’ rights under multiple articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as “Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 5 (right to liberty and security), Article 10 (freedom of expression), and Article 11 (right to assembly and association)” were violated and called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Tbilisi City Court and the Special Investigative Service to take appropriate actions:
- Ministry of Internal Affairs – to stop the illegal arrests of the assembly participants and to fulfill its obligation to ensure the protection of the assembly participants;
- Tbilisi City Court – to stop proceedings against the peaceful demonstrators and to declare the illegality of their detention, as the publicly distributed video footage proves the improper treatment of the demonstrators;
- Special Investigative Service – to investigate the facts of violence and abuse of power by the MIA representatives objectively and within a reasonable time and to grant the illegally detained demonstrators the status of victims within the framework of the investigation.
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Transparency International – Georgia made a statement on April 19 concerning the controversial Tax Code amendments, adopted in the third reading by the Parliament earlier the same day. The statement says that “it is possible that the reason for these legislative changes is the interests of the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.” The watchdog also states that at the same time, these changes will increase the risk of inflow of criminal and Russian capital into Georgia.”
The statement notes that according to the proposed amendments, which were adopted on an expedited basis, in case of transfer of assets of a company registered in a country with preferential taxation (offshore) to a Georgian company, a number of tax benefits are established for the company.
In particular:
- Within the asset transfer operation, the income received by the offshore registered foreign enterprise and its owner natural person is exempt from profit and income tax;
- Importation of assets or goods into Georgia is exempt from import duties;
- Georgian companies, which receives assets from offshore, are exempt from property tax until January 1, 2030.
The watchdog notes that the explanatory note to the legislative amendment does not provide arguments as to why it was necessary to review the existing amendment in an accelerated manner.
Transparency International says that “the initiation of the said legislative amendment in parallel with the “Russian Law” and the accelerated proceedings raise doubts that its purpose is to facilitate the transfer of the assets of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s offshore companies to Georgia”.
The statement notes that Russian businessmen and oligarchs often use the practice of offshore companies, and with the current legislative change, they will also be given the opportunity to transfer their assets to Georgia with tax benefits.
TI-Georgia notes, that “since the tax relief applies to the import of goods owned by an offshore company, it also applies to goods that may not be related to business activities – for example, high-value and luxury items such as works of art.”
The organization cites its own 2021 study found that Bidzina Ivanishvili owned 20 offshore companies, and notes that because of the opacity of offshore companies, TI-Georgia has for years called for the creation of a registry of beneficial owners of offshore companies, which would reduce the risks posed by anonymous ownership of these companies. Anonymous ownership, in turn, increases the risk of corruption, including tax evasion.
TI-Georgia says that the authorities became interested in the future risks of offshore companies only after the adoption of the “Russian law” significantly increased the likelihood of sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and people close to him from Western countries.
The statement notes that offshore companies are often attractive to individuals with assets of questionable origin, and if Georgia implements a regime facilitating the transfer of assets from offshore, it should also set a high standard of transparency. The identity of the persons transferring assets from offshore to Georgia should be public.
TI-Georgia also notes that the hasty adoption of the law , without extensive discussion on the issue, initiative clearly shows Bidzina Ivanishvili’s influence has on the executive and legislative authorities.