Day: May 10, 2024

On May 10, more than 50 human rights organizations from around the world issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with Georgian civil society, condemning the Georgian government’s efforts to reintroduce the controversial foreign agents law, and calling for its withdrawal.

In the statement, the organizations say they are “deeply troubled” by the efforts of the ruling Georgian Dream government “to stifle civil society voices” through the reintroduced Russian-style legislation that targets CSOs and independent media outlets.

Expressing solidarity with Georgian civil society, international organizations stress that this “attack” on freedom of expression and assembly, fundamental rights of a democratic and pluralistic society, affects them all. “It is an attempt to dehumanize and stigmatize civil society activity, something that runs contrary to  Georgia’s human rights commitments, as well as international human rights standards and values,” the statement says.

Noting that the same risks are seen in other countries where similar processes are being developed “to curtail accountability and defense of human rights,” the statement points to the effects the Georgian government-backed law is expected to have, highlighting in particular “reprisals, attacks, red-tagging, imrpisonments, abductions and killings of human rights defenders, envrionemntal activits, legal professionals, journalists, workers, community leaders and other civil society actors.” The statement regrets that these risks are now faced by the Georgian people “who have been fiercely fighting for liberty, independence, freedom and democracy for the past 35 years.”

Expressing solidarity with the Georgian people, international human rights organizations recognize that the adoption of the law will also have “implications” for the countries where they operate.

The organizations urge the Georgian government to drop the law and return to the reform agenda, which they say is “so much needed for Georgia’s continued leadership in democratization and development.”

With the Asian Development Bank’s Annual General Meeting taking place in Tbilisi in the coming days, the organizations also call on international financial institutions and other international partners of Georgia “to publicly condemn this attack on human rights and democracy and publicly state their support to Georgian civil society and people of Georgia who demand democracy and human rights.”

As yet another strong statement from the West calls on the Georgian government to drop the law, and massive protests against it continue, the ruling majority remains determined to pass the law in its final third reading, which is expected to take place next week. Although the law has not yet been passed, opponents of the law are already being intimidated, attacked and terrorized as “agents.”

Also Read:

• 10/05/2024 – International Reactions to Intimidation, Violence Campaign Against Civil Activists, Opposition Politicians over Foreign Agents Law
• 25/04/2024 – Over 100 CSOs, Media Suspend Cooperation with Government

On May 10, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting with representatives of both pro-government and critical media to discuss the reintroduced Foreign Agents Bill and the current situation in Georgia. During the heated meeting, the Prime Minister said that the bill will be adopted in the third reading, despite the loud criticism from the West and non-stop rallies against it, and noted that GD government is ready to make changes to the Foreign Agents’ law if it receives “legal comments from partners” within the presidential veto procedure.

He however defended the law throughout the long meeting, which began with his 20-minute monologue, in which PM lashed out at the journalists from critical media, accusing them of “spreading disinformation” and “speculation” that the government was swaying Georgia from its Euro-Atlantic integration course and moving toward Russia. He brushed off these accusations saying that the government wanted to move closer to the West, while also calling on the US to open visa-free travel, start direct flights, and establish free trade, and on the EU to open accession negotiations with Georgia.

Commenting on the violence that has been observed in the last few days, the Prime Minister shifted the blame on the opposition citing punching by the opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili of the GD majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze in the Parliament during the discussions over the Agents’ law. He also blamed the opposition for the harassment of GD politicians, Georgian national football players and journalists of pro-government channels, allegedly referring to the calls by a part of Georgian society for politicians and representatives of various professions to express their protest against the draft law.

The representatives of the critical media channels left the room in protest during the Prime Minister’s monologue. Eka Mishveladze, TV Pirveli presenter, was the first to openly express her displeasure with the fact that the Prime Minister called the journalists for a briefing and instead of hearing questions began his “propagandistic” speech. She left the room until the Q&A session began. Nino Zhizhilashvili (Formula TV) and Dea Mamiseishvili (Mtavari TV) followed her out, expressing their concern that their time for questions was being cut short when it was the first time in a while that any of the Georgian Dream representatives had sat down for an interview with the critical media.

Questions from pro-government TV channels included the questions concerning how Georgia can maintain its sovereignty in this changing global environment, why it is important to adopt this law, how Georgia can save itself from “Maidanization” supported and orchestrated by Western funding, and how relations with the West will continue after the law is adopted, despite their criticism.

Prime Minister emphasized that Georgia will be able to secure its sovereignty, as it has done many times in history, and that the adoption of the Agents’ law serves this purpose, because this law will make it clear from where the non-governmental organizations in Georgia are funded, and if it’s publicly known, every time these organizations will try to “start a revolution”, the donor organization will take responsibility for stopping these actions. This in PM’s view, is what will bring “peace and stability” to Georgia. As for the attempts at “Maidanization,” the PM said that the “collective UNM” doesn’t have enough resources for that and that Georgia is not Yanukovych’s Ukraine or the Georgia of 2003 for such revolutionary movements to take place.

Regarding the relations with the West and the harsh criticism of Georgia’s Western partners, Prime Minister Kobakhidze stated that the criticism is unfounded and vague, without concrete answers to what the West doesn’t like in the draft law. He noted that the Western countries are treating Georgia unfairly by having the same laws but criticizing Georgia for them, and that the GD government is ready for cooperation and consultations to improve this law, which they expect to happen after the presidential veto. The Prime Minister stressed that after the veto, the European countries and NGOs – “who are writing the vetoes for Zurabishvili” – will have to give a concrete explanation why they consider this or that article of the law unconstitutional and that the GD government is ready to work on changing what needs to be changed after hearing the “constructive criticism”.

As for the critical media representatives, the questions centered on the numerous cases of violence in the streets of Tbilisi, most of which have not been investigated as well as the dire consequences of hte law for the Georgian Euro-Atlantic integration and relations with strategic partners in the West. The opposition media representatives took the opportunity and addressed the audience of the pro-government channels that were broadcasting the meeting live, saying that these pro-government channels may not be telling their viewers the full truth or showing the full picture of what is really going on. The representative of Formula TV, Nino Zhizhilashvili, took the opportunity to remind the audience of the statements made by the officials of the Western countries, which clearly state that if Georgia adopts the law, it will lose all the fruits of EU integration – visa liberalization, candidate status and free trade agreement – that Georgia has achieved so far.

The discussions between the Prime Minister and the anchors of critical TV channels became heated on many occasions. The Prime Minister repeatedly reminded the journalists to keep in mind “intellect, IQ, politeness, culture” when addressing him, and on several occasions made derogatory comments about the media they represented, telling the anchors that they were representatives of certain politicians (Mtavari TV – Gvaramia; TV Pirveli – Khazaradze; Formula TV – Kezerashvili) and that they had the nerve to dare to criticize him and the GD party, while they should be “ashamed” for representing such politicians. There were also a number of derogatory comments specifically attacking individual journalists, with PM telling them that he can’t criticize their IQ or intellect because they don’t have any, and that they don’t represent the true “image of Georgian woman” because they aren’t polite.

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Once more, our nation is facing dire and excruciating circumstances as governmental authorities undertake demarcation and delimitation efforts, completely neglecting the return of Armenian sovereign lands. Simultaneously, these unilateral compromises are touted to the public as pathways to peace, while in fact Armenia is the sole sufferer and Azerbaijan reaps the rewards of this process.

Considering the ongoing developments that sparked the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, spearheaded under the leadership of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the Armenian Relief Society and its global entities express deep concerns regarding recent decisions taken by Armenian authorities. We stand united in safeguarding the security of bordering villages and the well-being of their inhabitants, aiming to transform these protective outposts into bastions of strength rather than abandoned territories.

Driven by the overarching goal of preserving Armenia as our homeland, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), a significant institution dedicated to the Armenian cause, pledges unwavering support for the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement. The ARS blends a mother’s nurturing love with the resilience and determination of Armenian women leading their children, recognizing that our homeland should never be used as a pawn for political gain. It is our collective national duty to stand by the residents of our border villages, acting with a sense of obligation and national consciousness for the betterment of Armenia.

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