Day: March 4, 2026

Opinion on Georgia’s grants law

Tamta Mikeladze, director of the Social Justice Center, has commented on the new restrictive amendments to the law on grants adopted by the ruling party Georgian Dream. In her view, the legislative changes represent an attempt to socially and politically destroy the intellectual and cultural class that emerged in independent Georgia.

Georgia’s parliament has passed in the third reading a package of laws that significantly tighten control over foreign funding and political activity. The amendments broaden the definition of a “grant”, extending it to include almost any financial or non-financial assistance that could influence the country’s politics. They also require prior government approval for grants and introduce lengthy prison sentences for violations. More details about the changes are available at the link.

Tamta Mikeladze: “The law adopted today by Georgian Dream in the third reading, together with all the other destructive legislative and administrative changes the ruling party has introduced in recent years, effectively represents an attempt to socially and politically destroy the intellectual and cultural class that emerged in independent Georgia.

If we look at the recent years of Georgian Dream’s rule through the experience of individual representatives of this class, we can see a deliberate campaign to persecute them and dismantle what they created. This includes educational programmes, social initiatives and civic organisations. The process also erases their memory and their social and political significance.

Such a deliberate war against social forces that are vital for all democracies is not accidental. All autocrats act in the same way.”

Transparency International assess new extremism legislation in Georgia

The organisation says it further criminalises the expression of critical opinions.

“It is quite obvious that the simultaneous adoption of these laws is a sign of their weakness. A year has passed since the last amendment to the law on grants, and not a single major donor has approached Georgian Dream to request approval for project implementation. Now Georgian Dream is trying to secure cooperation with international organisations at a technical level, while banning everything — in the absolute sense of the word. The party also wants to completely demobilise the social forces that are driving protests in Tbilisi and other cities.

Georgian Dream is “bunkering” the country and pushing it into long-term regression simply to preserve power. In this sense, it has branded itself as the darkest and most backward political force in the history of Georgia.

Will civil society continue to function in the future? I think it certainly will. Because “thanks to” Georgian Dream, civil society is no longer limited to its institutionalised actors. In place of the destroyed NGO sector, a new experience is emerging. It is based on the pure work, courage, volunteerism, honesty and solidarity of individuals. There are more such people than the authorities can imagine.

So within this loss there is also the potential for something new to be born. I am certain that our generation will endure this as well.”

Georgian Dream effectively dismantles political freedoms – Social Justice Center

Analysis of legislative changes in Georgia

Opinion on Georgia’s grants law

TikTok has announced that it will not introduce end-to-end encryption for private messages, a controversial privacy technology widely used by other social media platforms, AzerNEWS reports.

Armenian parliament speaker on Iran and other issues

“This is one of the largest wars which, thank God, does not affect us in any way. We hope it will not affect Armenia’s interests either.”

Armenia’s parliament speaker Alen Simonyan said this during a briefing when he commented on the situation around Iran.

He stressed that Yerevan cannot remain indifferent to events in a neighbouring country. Simonyan said the Armenian side regrets that people are dying in Iran. He also expressed hope that tensions will ease in the near future.

The speaker also stressed that Armenia and Azerbaijan have managed to reach a peace agreement. He said the country must stay away from any processes that could put this peace process at risk.

Journalists asked whether events around Iran and tensions in the Middle East could negatively affect the implementation of the “Trump route” transit project through Armenia. Simonyan replied:

“I think the events around Iran pose no danger to the ‘Trump route’.”

During the briefing, the speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia commented on key foreign and domestic policy issues. In particular, he spoke about the management of Armenian Railways and the upcoming parliamentary elections.

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“There is no flow of Iranian Armenians so far”

The speaker also addressed the possibility that Armenians living in Iran could move to Armenia. He stressed that the authorities do not see such a situation at the moment:

“I have no information about such a risk or trend. This did not happen during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025. Naturally, we have plans in case such a situation arises. But so far there is no such flow.”

Opinion: ‘Possible influx of refugees from Iran poses Armenia’s biggest challenge’

Political analyst Robert Ghevondyan on the military action in Iran, possible scenarios and their impact on Armenia

‘Some countries would like to buy from Russia the right to manage Armenia’s railway‘

The parliament speaker said Armenia discusses issues related to the country’s railway primarily with the Russian side:

“We expect a response as soon as possible. This project has vital importance for us. So we have no choice but to discuss it.”

At the same time, Alen Simonyan noted that other countries have also shown interest. Some of them would like to buy from Russia the right to manage Armenian Railways:

“I meet ambassadors of different countries. Naturally, there is interest, and they speak about it. Another question is what the final decision will be.”

According to the speaker, Armenia has not made a decision about transferring the management of the railway to another country. However, negotiations continue.

Opinion: Armenia would benefit from returning its railways to state control

Armenia’s railways have operated under a Russian concession since 2008, but growing criticism of the operator’s performance has fuelled debate over ending the contract.

‘Robert Kocharyan has reasons to worry‘

At his latest press conference, Armenia’s former president Robert Kocharyan said that no one could lead the country out of crisis better than him.

According to Alen Simonyan, a member of the ruling party, Kocharyan should not talk about leading the country because he has other concerns. Simonyan suggested he should instead consider whether his political force could pass the electoral threshold together with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun and enter parliament.

He recalled that in the 2021 parliamentary elections the Armenia Alliance led by Kocharyan won about 21% of the vote. According to the speaker, in 2026 “the lion’s share of that 21% will vote not for Kocharyan but for another opposition party”.

Simonyan believes that political forces led by businessmen Samvel Karapetyan and Gagik Tsarukyan — whom the ruling team describes as “Russian and Armenian oligarchs” — will compete for dominance within the opposition:

“They will fight to become the leading opposition force. Both will take voters away from the Armenia Alliance.”

‘Opposition aims to take power by forming post-election coalition’ – Armenian parliament vice-speaker

Representatives of the ruling party insist that the opposition will not be able to “pull off their plans”, that they will “no more see power than they can see their own ears”, and that “there is no longer any place in politics for former presidents and oligarchs.”

Armenian parliament speaker on Iran and other issues