Category: Audio Review – South Caucasus News

The United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya will travel to Georgia and Armenia from July 9-17 “to engage on democratic governance and anti-corruption; media freedom and freedom of expression; and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups,” the U.S. State Department reported on July 10.

The official release says that while in Georgia, the Under Secretary will meet the representatives of the executive and legislature, as well as CSOs and media “to underscore the U.S.’s grave concerns over the ‘foreign influence’ law and other illiberal legislation and the harmful rhetoric of the Georgian government, which has placed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory at risk.”

According to the State Department, Under Secretary Zeya “will make clear that the government’s undemocratic behavior and disinformation about the United States has damaged our long-standing relationship” and “will also emphasize unwavering U.S. support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Georgian people’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration, and assistance to Georgia over 32 years of partnership.”

“Additionally, she will reiterate the importance of free and fair elections and a vibrant civil society, raise respect for fundamental freedoms, protections for members of marginalized groups, and the human rights of all Georgians.  Under Secretary Zeya will also visit a community organization founded and led by women displaced by Russia’s continued occupation of Georgia,” the State Department added.

Civil.ge was granted an interview with Under Secretary Zeya.

Also Read:

• 14/05/2024 – U.S. Assistant Secretary Jim O’Brien Visits Georgia
• 06/12/2023 – US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Visits Georgia

Three Georgian opposition parties — Ahali, Droa, and Girchi — More Freedom, have announced that they will run a joint list for October’s parliamentary elections.

The party’s leaders made the announcement at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that they would campaign together. The new grouping will be listed in the 26 October parliamentary elections under the number 4.

Gvaramia set out three principles behind the grouping: Georgia’s membership of Western society, non-cooperation with the ‘regime’ of billionaire ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, and cooperative coordination of the opposition.

Parliamentary elections in Georgia are scheduled for 26 October. MPs will for the first time be elected fully proportionally, with mandates distributed amongst the political parties that cross the 5% threshold.

Ahali co-chair Nika Gvaramia added that an agreement had not yet been reached with the Lelo party, because there were ‘minor differences between [our] visions’, but added that they considered the party an important partner.

‘Obviously, this does not end the process and these negotiations will continue, not only with Lelo’, Gvaramia said. ‘There is still time. However, after [Tuesday’s] announcement, we will start a united campaign’.

Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria added that the principles of the Georgian Charter initiated by President Salome Zourabichvili, signed by parties including Droa, Ahali, and Girchi — More Freedom, were important for them.

[Read more: Major Georgian opposition groups sign President Zourabichvili’s charter]

‘In the [Georgian] Charter, we have a very specific mandate for which we are coming [here] — we are here to enter Europe, to return [to] the European agenda and we are coming to create a fair, democratic, political public environment’, said Khoshtaria.

Zurab Japaridze, the leader of Girchi — More Freedom party, stated that three things were required to defeat the ruling Georgian Dream party in the elections: maximum mobilisation of voters, preventing electoral fraud, and ‘correct’ organisation of the opposition.

Salome Samadashvili, a Lelo leader, told RFE/RL that there were differences of opinion among the parties participating in the negotiations.

‘It is necessary to offer something genuinely new, this is important because it is a public demand’, she said. ‘Therefore, there are general issues that are very important at the level of principles and there are some differences of opinion on this, but our door remains open to further consultations’.

Samadashvili added that Lelo was in talks not only with Ahali, Girchi — More Freedom, and Droa, but also with ‘different groups, socially active citizens, and parties’.

The announcement comes in the wake of criticism of opposition parties for failing to announce any concrete plans to take on Georgian Dream in the election.

A day earlier, the United National Movement (UNM), Georgia’s largest opposition party, and Strategy Aghmashenebeli presented a new political platform called Unity for the Salvation of Georgia. The new platform did not include substantial additions not previously working together. They will participate in elections under the number 5, traditionally the number under which the UNM has been listed.

The United National Movement was in power from 2003 to 2012, led by Mikheil Saakashvili.

Tina Bokuchava at the Unity for the Salvation of Georgia launch on Monday. Photo: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

UNM chair Tina Bokuchava stated on Monday that Ivanishvili had made the elections into a ‘referendum’ between Russia and Europe. 

‘Before the […] elections, it is our duty to look for points of contact, what unites us. Now is not the time for division, conflict, ambition, or ego wrestling. Now is the time for unity for Georgia’, said Bokuchava. 

In late June, after opposition parties signed Zourabichvili’s Georgian Charter, the United National Movement, Girchi – More Freedom, Ahali, Lelo, Droa, and Strategy Agmashenebeli announced a Declaration of Unity of the Georgian Opposition, which reaffirmed their commitment to the charter, as well as committing to common goals before and after the elections.

The European Georgia party did not join the Declaration of Unity, and stated on Monday that even though ‘research showed’ that ‘the best synergy’ they had was to make European Georgia, Ahali, and Lelo an electoral unit, nobody from those parties had responded to their multiple addresses.

Tbilisi mayor and Georgian Dream general secretary Kakha Kaladze called opposition parties that had united ‘losers’.

‘How can parties [polling at] two percent, in the case of a union, achieve any results? They are ordinary “losers” ’, he said.

The post Three Georgian opposition parties unite ahead of election appeared first on OC Media.

The Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid intensified operations in the north, the BBC reports.

Leaflets dropped by aircraft instruct “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what is described as a “dangerous combat zone” via designated safe routes – marked as two roads that lead to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.

The UN has said it is deeply concerned about the evacuation orders being given.

Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders for and re-entered several areas of Gaza City where they believe Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have regrouped since the start of the year.

The fighting is continuing as indirect negotiations over a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas are set to resume in Qatar. The talks will be attended by the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the US and Israel.

There are estimated to be more than a quarter-of-a-million people still living in Gaza City – and some were observed evacuating to the south.

Others, though, were not willing to leave.

“I will not leave Gaza. I will not make the stupid mistake that others have made. Israeli missiles do not differentiate between north and south,” Gaza resident Ibrahim al-Barbari, 47, told the BBC.

“If death is my fate and the fate of my children, we will die with honour and dignity in our homes,” he said.

In a statement issued earlier on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops had “conducted a counterterrorism operation” overnight against Hamas and PIJ fighters who were operating inside a headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Gaza City.

The troops had opened a “defined corridor to facilitate the evacuation of civilians” from the area before they entered the structure and “eliminated terrorists in close-quarters combat”, it added.

There was no immediate comment from Unrwa.

The IDF also said it had killed dozens of fighters in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya district and dismantled an underground tunnel route over the past day.

Speaking in the Israeli parliament on Wednesday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that 60% of Hamas fighters had been killed or wounded since Israel’s offensive began. The BBC could not independently verify these figures.

On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office said it was “appalled” by IDF orders for residents to evacuate to “areas where Israeli military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured”.

It also warned that the Deir al-Balah area was already seriously overcrowded with Palestinians displaced from other areas of Gaza and that there was little infrastructure and limited access to humanitarian assistance.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy the Hamas group in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 38,295 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

WARSAW — Poland needs to prepare its soldiers for all-out conflict, its armed forces chief of staff said on Wednesday, as the country boosts the number of troops on its border with Russia and Belarus. 

Poland’s relations with Russia and its ally Belarus have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, starting a war that is still being fought. 

“Today, we need to prepare our forces for full-scale conflict, not an asymmetric-type conflict,” army chief of staff General Wieslaw Kukula told a press conference. 

“This forces us to find a good balance between the border mission and maintaining the intensity of training in the army,” he said. 

Speaking at the same event, deputy defense minister Pawel Bejda said that as of August, the number of troops guarding Poland’s eastern border would be increased to 8,000 from the current 6,000, with an additional rearguard of 9,000 able to step up within 48 hours notice. 

In May, Poland announced details of “East Shield”, a 10 billion zloty ($2.5 billion) program to beef up defenses along its border with Belarus and Russia, which it plans to complete the plans by 2028. 

The border with Belarus has been a flashpoint since migrants started flocking there in 2021 after Belarus opened travel agencies in the Middle East offering a new unofficial route into Europe — a move the European Union said was designed to create a crisis. 

Warsaw has ramped up defense spending to more that 4% of its economic output this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Kukula also said the current high interest from candidates to join the army posed a dilemma over whether to take in more recruits than budgeted for at the expense of military equipment procurement, especially as he said interest was expected to start declining sharply from 2027. 

The size of the armed forces stood at about 190,000 personnel at the end of last year, including ground, air, naval, special forces and territorial defense forces. Poland plans to increase this to 300,000 troops within a few years. 

Former chief of the Armenian police, Vladimir Gasparyan, and three other former police officials have been found guilty of abuse of power, forgery, and embezzlement by Armenia’s anti-corruption court, but have been released after amnesties were applied to all four. 

On Tuesday, the court found Gasparyan, his deputy Levon Yeranosyan, and two other former police officials guilty.

Vladimir Gasparyan was found guilty in two cases, but exempted from serving the sentence for one on the basis of the statute of limitations having expired, while the other sentence was dropped on the basis of an amnesty declared in 2019. 

The three other former police officers were released on the same basis. 

Both the Prosecutor’s Office and a lawyer representing Gasparyan vowed to challenge the Anti-Corruption Court’s decision, with the Prosecutor’s Office announcing it would appeal the decision to release those found guilty, while Alexander Kochubaev, a lawyer representing Gasparyan, called the guilty verdict ‘inadmissible’.

‘It will definitely be appealed because any decision other than an acquittal is illegal,’ said Kochubaev.

One of the charges stated that while serving as the head of the Military Police Department in 1997–2011, despite being aware that three soldiers were continuing to receive their salaries while not performing their duties or attending their military units, Gasparyan did not take any measures. 

In 2022 the Special Investigation Service found that the soldiers in question had been working as drivers and bodyguards for the brothers of third President Serzh Sargsyan.

Gasparyan was also found guilty of illegally allocating property worth a total of ֏35 million ($91,000) from the police budget while serving as police chief from 2011–2018 to police officers who did not require improved housing conditions. 

The Special Investigation Service discovered that one of the properties had been allocated to a person who had been employed at the Police Culture Centre for only six days, but who had provided music production services for Gasparyan’s daughter.

The post Former Armenian police chief released despite being found guilty of abuse of power appeared first on OC Media.

Beijing — India has no right to carry out development in the area China calls South Tibet, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in response to a Reuters report on New Delhi’s plans to speed up hydropower projects in the border state. 

“South Tibet is China’s territory,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement. 

It said India had no right to carry out development there and the establishment of what India calls Arunachal Pradesh on Chinese territory is “illegal and invalid.” 

Reuters reported on Tuesday that India plans to spend $1 billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydropower stations in the northeastern Himalayan state. 

India’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on China’s statement. 

India says its remote state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, but China says it is a part of southern Tibet, and has objected to Indian infrastructure projects there. 

Last week, India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kazakhstan where the two agreed to intensify efforts to resolve issues along their border. 

When asked about the GD’s retaliation against activists amidst concerns over waning international attention regarding Georgia, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller responded, “it is a troubling pattern of behavior by the Georgian Government that we would urge them to reverse.”

“Obviously, we would oppose any crackdown on democratic dissent. That’s the point that we have been making for some time. And it’s the point we have made about the passage of this law, and that it would be used to crack down on legitimate democratic dissent,” Spokesperson Miller added during the July 9 press briefing.

During the same press briefing, he also confirmed that “the review” of the U.S.-Georgia relations is “ongoing.”

Referring to the EU’s decision to freeze some aid and the accession process for Georgia, Miller said “I know that they have made clear, as we have made clear when it comes to our relationship with Georgia, that there would be consequences for Georgia’s democratic backsliding.”

Also Read:

• 24/05/2024 – BREAKING: US Announces Visa Restrictions and Review of All US-Georgia Cooperation

Three months remain until the elections in October, and the opposition parties are gearing up for the official kickoff of their campaigns. This is while the Georgian Dream administration is reaping the results of its confrontation with Georgia’s Western partners. As Euro-Atlantic integration becomes increasingly elusive, many citizens are increasingly feeling the importance of the upcoming elections. The opposition tries to frame the upcoming election as the referendum on Georgia’s European future. As expected, the unified opposition bloc did not materialize, but armed with polls, the opposition parties are trying to pull together and create larger platforms.

The following covers election-related updates spanning June 25-July 9.

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Campaign Context

Farther from the West: Over the past two weeks, Georgia has felt the impact of the damage that passing a highly criticized law can do to its Western partnerships and aspirations. The United States has been firm in its position, holding U.S. Congressional subcommittee hearings on the Georgian issue and announcing the indefinite postponement of the Noble Partner exercise in Georgia scheduled for July 25-August 6 this year. However, despite the overwhelming concern over the U.S. decision, the GD party claims no change in foreign policy occurred. Claiming Georgia is ready for cooperation and friendship with the West, GD officials say they won’t be “anybody’s vassal” and call for a “reset.”

Relations with Europe aren’t faring any better. In the past two weeks, the European Council has expressed “serious concern” and called on “the Georgian authorities to clarify their intentions” on the EU path. Meanwhile, the PACE resolution has once again condemned the Foreign Agents Law and questioned Georgia’s commitment to EU-Atlantic integration. In addition, the GD-critical “Bucharest Declaration” of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has ruffled GD’s feathers so much that the party’s representatives refused to vote for the document, which condemns the occupation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, claiming that it contains a “blatant lie” – portray the law on agents as a threat to freedom of expression and assembly. The European Union has moved from words to actions, as it halted Georgia’s EU accession process and froze EUR 30 million in EU Peace Facility funds. Further measures are being considered if the situation in the country deteriorates further, according to EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński.

The Process of Unification: With three months left before the October elections, opposition parties are finalizing their plans to unite, while some projects fall short of expectations. The United National Movement and Strategy Aghmashenebeli – already acting as a bloc for a while – with a sprinkling of other independent opposition MPs and activists, have announced a new platform – “Unity – to Save Georgia.” The aim of the platform is to unite the pro-Western parties under the same number on the ballot, underlining their common commitment to implementing the necessary reforms to achieve EU membership. Opposition parties – Ahali, Girchi More Freedom and Droa – also came to the decision to post a joint election list for the Parliamentary elections in October. Their talks to unite with Lelo have come to naught (so far, nuance their leaders).

New Political Movements: Levan Tsutskiridze, the former Executive Director of the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy/EECMD, alongside other civic activists and representatives of CSOs in Georgia, set up a new political movement “Freedom Square” – we spoke to Tsutskiridze about their ideas and plans. The movement’s manifesto pledges it to be an open, democratic platform for “protecting Georgia’s national interests and achieving Georgia’s historic goal.” According to the manifesto, the movement will unify “patriotic, professional, and honest citizens for freedom and democracy.”

A group of activists previously associated with the GD and with a pronounced pro-Russian stance also announced a new political movement, “United Neutral Georgia,” which they hope to transform into a proper party in a year. In the movement’s manifesto, the founders say that over the past two years Georgian society has become a “political hostage” of the EU integration issue, which “poses the greatest danger to the Georgian state”.

Legislative changes 

Amendments to the Election Code: The Georgian Parliament overrode the President’s veto of amendments to the rules of procedure of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia, which provides that if a decision of the CEC requiring the support of at least two-thirds of its full members cannot be adopted at a meeting of the CEC, it shall be subject to a new vote at the same meeting and shall be deemed adopted if it receives the support of a majority of the full members of the CEC. These amendments were adopted despite the Venice Commission’s second critical legal assessment and warning that changes to the electoral code less than a year before elections undermine public confidence.

Anti-LGBT Legislation: Homophobia continues to be the main pillar of the GD’s election campaign. The parliamentary majority has already passed in the first reading the anti-LGBT legislative package consisting of a core law, “On Protection of Family Values and Minors,” and 18 related amendments to various laws of Georgia. This law was adopted against concerns raised by civil society organizations and international criticism, particularly by the CoE Venice Commission. In its legislative assessment, this august constitutional body called on the government to retract this law or to seriously re-work it as it contradicts Georgia’s human rights commitments.

“Law on Funded Pension”: The ruling Georgian Dream party has passed another controversial law, stoking fears about the safety of senior citizens’ savings and corruption. The legislative package renames the Pension Agency to the Pension Fund. It provides for increased executive control over the institution. Experts fear that the government may use these savings without proper controls.

Campaign Trail

The Georgian Dream party tried to ride the wave of popular excitement about the national football side. Despite the national team’s loss in the EURO 2024 play-offs that captivated Georgians’ hearts. Upon the players’ return to Georgia, the government organized a massive public welcoming ceremony, during which the boys were driven several kilometers on the roof of a bus and later taken to the scene set up on Freedom Square, where they were awarded Medals of Honor by the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili. The celebratory mood turned sour for Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who was booed on stage, had to cut his speech short and quickly pass the mic to the President, who was warmly cheered. The GD team took on the defense of the Prime Minister, saying the obstruction was “organized by the opposition.” A sour loser, Kobakhidze devoted a whining social media post to the incident and blamed everything on the UNM.

The United National Movement’s office in Poti (western Georgia) has been vandalized. Davit Khomeriki, Chairman of the UNM regional organization in Poti, said the double-glazed windows had apparently been broken by heavy blows. These kinds of orchestrated attacks have been taking place against the UNM and other opposition parties and civil society organizations almost since the beginning of the protests against the Law on Agents.

The leader of the Lelo political party, Mamuka Khazaradze, opened new regional offices in Khashuri, Kareli, Chkhorotsku, and Kharagauli. In Chkhorotsku, Kornel Tsurtsumia, deputy chairman of Sakrebulo, was appointed head of the new office. These openings reflect Lelo’s strategy to expand its presence and intensify its campaign efforts across Georgia in the coming months. The party aims to visit every district, engage directly with voters, and build momentum for the October elections.

Women members of the Ahali Party from Western Georgia, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), held a two-day working meeting in Borjomi on 29 and 30 June. They focused on establishing a women’s organization, defining the strategy and action plan, and discussing ways to increase and strengthen women’s political participation.

The For Georgia party has actively continued meetings with Georgian citizens. The party’s leader, Girogi Gakharia, who seems to court no alliances so far, visited the villages of Vertkvichala and the township of Kharagauli. The women representatives of the party also organized a meeting in Tbilisi. The party’s deputies from the Tbilisi City Council also visited an illegal construction waste dump in Nafetvrebi. They called for an immediate halt to the unauthorized and harmful activities, pointing to the serious ecological damage being caused. The deputies demanded accountability from political officials and highlighted the significant health and safety risks posed to Tbilisi residents by the illegal dumping practices.

Also Read:

• 25/06/2024 – Campaign Beat: June 10-24
• 30/04/2024 – Campaign Beat: April 16-30
• 16/04/2024 – Campaign Beat: March 30-April 15
• 01/04/2024 – Campaign Beat: March 18-29

On July 10, the German Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, reported that Germany has decided to stop any new financial commitments to Georgia, has halted its military’s participation in the Nobel Partner exercise previously canceled by the U.S., and canceled an important legal conference due to the recent anti-Western decisions of the Georgian Dream. He also confirmed the EU’s decision to halt Georgia’s accession and called on Georgians to rethink what the EU means to them.

Speaking to journalists before the conference “EU Enlargement – Geopolitical Needs and Further Steps for EU Candidate Countries”, the Ambassador underlined Georgia’s place on the EU accession path, stating: “Because of the course of action of the Georgian Dream government the European Council, which are the 27 heads of state and government, the people that decide on enlargement… have decided on 27^th of June, that accession process of Georgia has come to a halt, that is now European Union policy. And that is very sad, because it could be very different, we could be advancing very quickly. We would like to advance, but the speed and the quality of the accession process are in the hands of the accession candidate.”

• 09/07/2024 – EU Accession Process Halted, Aid to MoD Frozen, Relations at a Low Point, Ambassador Herczyński Regrets

He further noted that the German approach to Georgia has also changed: “We are also reviewing across the board our relationship with Georgia… We have decided not to enter into any new commitments with Georgia at this time, so no new financial commitments to Georgia from Germany at this time. The German military has also canceled its participation in the exercise Noble Partner. We have canceled a big legal forum that took place in Tbilisi last year and it was due to take place in Berlin in the summer… and we are reviewing further actions.”

Ambassador Fischer emphasized how regretful is it that Georgia’s relations with Germany and the EU have steeped so low and appealed to the Georgian people, stating: “We would like you to join the EU, you are very welcome to join the EU, but you know the process, you have to meet our standard, and if you don’t – then you can’t join. So, Georgian citizens and Georgian friends should really think about how important is the EU to yourselves, to you children, to your grandchildren. If you want it, you have to get on course.”

The journalists pointed out to the Ambassador that the Georgian Dream government is minimizing the importance of the EU’s decision to stop Georgia’s accession process, saying that it was made on a “micro level”, to which the Ambassador replied that he calls on the Georgian people to read the EU treaties, the Copenhagen criteria, the Commission’s evaluations on Georgia’s progress and the European Council’s decisions, and by reading all this they can understand how important the Council’s decision was. He underlined that the Council members are the political leaders of the EU and the decisions taken at their level are the “highest level”.

• 09/07/2024 – Parliament Speaker, Foreign Minister React to EU Freezing Aid to Georgia

One of the pro-governmental channel’s journalists asked the Ambassador why the conference he was attending was held in closed doors, when in the country there is a problem with “transparency of NGOs”. He answered: “I’m not organizing the conference; I can’t really speak for the conference organizers. Sometimes, the idea of a meeting is to speak very openly and try to move things forward. I’m sure, if you ask individual conference participants, they’ll be happy to speak to you about the conference, like I’m happy to speak to you about the conference. This is not a secret conference, it’s just a meeting of experts, not a public conference. Not every meeting has to be public.”

Lastly, he was asked if the rumors of Germany stopping visas for Georgian students were true, to which the Ambassador answered: “No, that information is not correct, no.”