The Middle Corridor can already be considered a green corridor with great potential
Day: October 1, 2024
The Georgian Dream leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, published a lengthy letter denying he intended to target either the U.S. or the EU when talking about the “global war party” during his party’s campaign. He made references to U.S. conspiracy theories such as “deep state” and warned the U.S. of the potential “reputational damage” if they keep supporting the opposition.
The letter seemingly came in direct response to the Facebook card shared by the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi earlier in the day, which read, “Bidzina Ivanishvili knows his money linked to Credit Suisse is in the hands of the courts of Bermuda and Singapore, not the U.S. Why is he telling Georgians a different story?”
“The [U.S.] Embassy cannot cite any statement by me personally or any other leader of Georgian Dream, in which we accuse the U.S. or the EU of financial blackmail against us,” Ivanishvili said in his October 1 letter.
“We have clarified many times that we do not mean the U.S. nor the EU under the Global War Party. Moreover, we have specified there that the Global War Party has substantive influence over the politicians and bureaucrats in both the U.S. and the EU,” the letter reads, noting that Ivanishvili refused to meet with “U.S. politicians and bureaucrats” since “the probability of influence of global war party on each of them is quite substantial.”
Ivanishvili then references “one of the magistral lines of the ongoing presidential campaign in the United States” the themes of “oligarchic influence, informal rule, “deep state” and war party,” mentioning specifically candidate Donald Tramp, and Robert Kennedy Jr. He says this “global war party”is trying to “shield itself by U.S. and European Union and to portray as if Georgia has confrontation not with itself, but with the U.S. and EU.”
He claims that the Georgian Dream is “the political force doing everything to avoid the reputational damage to the U.S. and European Union in the eyes of the Georgian society.”
In what sounds like a thinly veiled threat, the letter then states that “if the Georgian society were to be confined that the change of government against the wishes of the Georgian people and return of the collective National Movement to power is the wish not of the Global War Party but of the U.S. and the European Union, the image of the U.S. and the European Union will be harmed irreversibly.”
Developing confrontation
Last week, while in New York for the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told Georgian media that Bidzina Ivanishvili was being “blackmailed” following reports that the U.S. had drafted sanctions against Ivanishvili and was ready to impose them. Kobakhidze said: “He is already under de facto sanctions. His two billion dollars are already frozen in Europe, but now the blackmail continues in another form. You hear the threats of imposing official sanctions… They want to force Bidzina Ivanishvili to take steps that contradict Georgia’s national interests… This blackmail is doomed to failure.”
The statement came as PM Kobakhidze’s invitation to President Joe Biden’s New York reception was rescinded due to backtracking on democracy. The State Department officials also told the Voice of America that the administration was readying personal sanctions against Ivanishvili.
In an apparent attempt to mend the fences, PM Kobakhidze made a sudden about-face and called for revoking the highly criticized decision of the anti-corruption agency, which banned one of the major watchdogs – TI-Georgia – from observing elections.
Also Read:
- 19/09/2024 – PM Kobakhidze Talks U.S. Sanctions, Opposition, Elections, Intent to Apologize for August War
- 09/09/2024 – Ivanishvili: “Violent Attempts to Impose Pseudo-Liberal Values from Abroad Will Finally End”
- 21/08/2024 – Ivanishvili Hammers Home the Message of Political Revenge, Dangles Hope of Salvation
- 16/07/2024 – Ivanishvili Launches GD Campaign with “Global Party of War” Conspiracy as its Pivot
- 03/05/2024 – PM Kobakhidze Accuses U.S. of Attempting Revolutions, Says Special Efforts Needed to “Restart” Relations
Aslan Bzhania laughed at the graves of the fallen
Abkhazia’s President Aslan Bzhania has come under sharp criticism from the opposition for his inappropriate behavior at the Glory Memorial, where those who died in the 1992-93 Georgian-Abkhaz war are buried. The opposition deemed it sacrilegious to see Bzhania laughing in front of the graves, specifically the fact that he laughed in such a place.
The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that these photos were taken on September 30, a day when Abkhazia commemorates Victory and Independence Day. For the people of Abkhazia, this day is more about remembrance than celebration.
“On September 30, Victory Day, mothers stood by the graves of their sons in tears, along with war veterans and volunteers. Meanwhile, Aslan Bzhania was telling jokes and laughing heartily where the Heroes lie, who gave their lives so that we could live and raise our children in the spirit of patriotism and respect for our country,” stated a joint declaration from opposition organizations.
According to the authors of the statement, such places require appropriate behavior, and Bzhania’s actions, along with those of his government members, offended the feelings of all those for whom Abkhazia is their homeland. They emphasized that “no nation’s history remembers such sacrilegious disregard for the memory of those who died in war.”
- Thirty years later: the Lata tragedy
- Photo archive: Georgian families leaving Abkhazia during the 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhaz war
- “Georgians and Abkhazians work well together when they both need it” – Inguri HPP director, VIDEO
Opposition members explain Bzhania’s behavior by pointing out that he did not participate in the war and spent the post-war years engaged in business in Russia while Abkhazia was under blockade.
“Aslan Bzhania only appeared in Abkhazia in 2010, and he cannot understand the pain our people endured during the war and the years of blockade,” the opposition concluded in their statement.
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The legal scope of the damage caused by Armenia to Azerbaijan during the First and Second Garabagh Wars is extremely significant. Considering the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, the destruction of residential areas and historical monuments, the displacement of nearly one million Azerbaijanis, the missile attacks on Barda and Ganja using prohibited weapons during the Second Garabagh War, and the current danger posed by landmines buried in Garabagh, the legal consequences Armenia may face in terms of punitive measures or compensation are of great interest.
Kobakhidze and Nransparency International – Georgia
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made an urgent statement suggesting it would be appropriate to revoke the status of Transparency International – Georgia (TI) as a “subject with a declared electoral purpose.” The Anti-Corruption Bureau assigned this status to the organization and its director Eka Gigauri on September 24, sparking widespread protests from civil society and opposition groups.
As a result, the organization was barred from monitoring the crucial parliamentary elections on October 26. TI announced plans to challenge the decision in court and still monitor the elections through volunteer efforts.
Various international organizations have called for the decision to be overturned. On October 1, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) expressed deep concern that Transparency International – Georgia is forced to halt its election monitoring activities.
The Prime Minister’s unexpected statement, effectively in favor of Transparency International – Georgia, was explained as a “necessity to stop manipulations.”
Irakli Kobakhidze also called on the Anti-Corruption Bureau to refrain from assigning the status of “subject with a declared electoral purpose” to any other organizations until the parliamentary elections.
At this point, alongside TI, only the civil organization “Choose Europe” has been given this status.
The concept of a “subject with a declared electoral purpose” is outlined in the Law on Political Associations of Citizens. Organizations and individuals assigned this status are required to submit financial reports to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and disclose bank account details related to income and expenditures linked to their electoral activities.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau stated that its monitoring revealed Transparency International-Georgia and its executive director, Eka Gigauri, were “actively involved in an election campaign aimed at both supporting specific political parties and urging against the support of others.”
In response, Transparency International-Georgia asserted that they “have always been and remain committed to Georgia’s European choice, as enshrined in the Constitution and aligned with the aspirations of the vast majority of the population.”
What else did Irakli Kobakhidze say?
● For any objective observer, it is clear that Transparency International – Georgia has an electoral agenda and openly engages in propaganda against the ruling party, using relevant financial and material resources for this purpose.
● Therefore, the decision of the Anti-Corruption Bureau can be considered fully justified from a legal standpoint and complies with the requirements of Georgia’s Law on Political Associations of Citizens. It is unsurprising that the correctness of this decision was upheld by the court of first instance.
● However, in the interest of the state and to prevent external manipulation of the electoral process, the first signs of which have already emerged, I find it reasonable to revoke the electoral agenda status from Transparency International – Georgia.
● Moreover, this approach should ideally extend to other similar entities, even though only Transparency International – Georgia has resisted the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s decision.
● Georgian society does not need any legal status for Transparency International – Georgia to draw its own conclusions and exercise caution.