Day: April 30, 2024

Sword attack leaves 5 hospitalized in London https://t.co/r2FAzBHFKh pic.twitter.com/eOLeGZPj6U

— New York Post (@nypost) April 30, 2024

LATEST: Russian strike on ‘Harry Potter castle’ in Odessa kills at least 5

🔴 At least five people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on a landmark building known as the “Harry Potter Castle” in Odesa, Ukraine, according to local officials. pic.twitter.com/ILlBkwNHe4

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 30, 2024

BREAKING

SAUDI- ISRAEL NORMALIZATIONS

“New progress has been made”

Despite royal palace conditions during the war, secret progress is made towards a historic agreement.

Via @N12News pic.twitter.com/iMVCPkAjgU

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 30, 2024

On April 30, representatives of civil society organizations and activists issued a joint statement in response to the counter-rally organized by Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s speech on April 29. Noting that the speeches at the GD counter-rally were a clear indication that the government is planning a turn to Soviet-style totalitarian regime and repressions, they pledge to oppose this attempt accordingly.

“The Government has openly declared that with the adoption of the Russian law they are announcing repression against the people. They are announcing rigged elections, censorship, and a Soviet-style totalitarian regime. They declared that they see the West as the enemy, and the occupying country of our country, Russia, was not even mentioned in this context. Everyone clearly understood that the purpose of the adoption of the Russian law is not the notorious “transparency”, but the change of the country’s foreign policy and the completion of Russification”, – reads the statement.

NGO representatives and activists share their plans for future action and say they:

• oppose the attempt to pass the law in the second reading and to show the government once again that “betraying the Constitution and rejecting the European Union with this Russian law will never be the choice of the Georgian people.”
• call on the political parties to fulfill their duty to the people and to fight even harder against the Russian law in the parliament.
• call on everyone, “every Georgian citizen who cares about the independence of the country, the Constitution and the European path of Georgia, to gather in front of the Parliament at 19:00”.

“We will keep an eye on how the government will act and we will act in accordance to the concurrent situation, in accordance with the return of the country to the constitutional framework and the declared will of the Georgian people,” – concludes the statement.

Also Read:

• 26/04/2024 – Opposition Parties Call on Civil Servants Not to Participate in GD-Announced Rally
• 25/04/2024 – Over 100 CSOs, Media Suspend Cooperation with Government
• 08/04/2024 – More than 400 CSOs Denounce Foreign Agents Bill

EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy lead Spokesperson Peter Stano once again criticized the infamous Foreign Agents Law, saying that the law is not in line with European values and European expectations of Georgia, and that if finally adopted, “[the law] can actually work counter the ambition of Georgia to get closer to the European Union.”

“We were very clear: the adoption of this law is moving Georgia away from its stated objective to get closer to the European Union,” Stano said at the European Council press briefing on April 29.

Stano also said that the EU is holding talks with the Georgian government and Georgian parliamentarians “to make it very clear what’s wrong with this law and what the negative consequences of this law would be,” outlining the threats the foreign agents law poses to Georgian NGOs, media and Georgian civil society as a whole, and more generally to the country’s goal of moving forward on the path to EU accession.

He also said that the European Union will reflect “all these things” in the next Enlargement Report to be published in the fall. He stressed that if there is no progress or backsliding on certain issues, then it will affect the “overall approach and overall progress” of the country in achieving the “stated priority” of the people and the government to move closer to the EU.

EU Mission in Georgia announced on April 30 that on May 1-2, Gert Jan Koopman, European Commission Director General for Neighbourhood & Enlargement Negotiations, will visit Georgia “to discuss EU-Georgia cooperation, including the work on the 9 steps linked to Georgia’s EU candidate status, with officials, civil society, and other partners.” According to the announcement he will also launch several EU-funded projects in the country.

Also Read:

• 22/04/2024 – HR Borrell: “This Law is Incompatible with EU Values”
• 17/04/2024 – Borrell, Várhelyi: Adoption of “Foreign Agents Law” Would Negatively Impact Georgia’s EU Path