The Daily Beat: 4 September
On Sunday, under police presence, members of the “United National Movement” were attacked and physically assaulted while protesting against the sale of the garden square in Chokhatauri – a small town in western Georgia. According to the UNM, about ten people were injured, some needing medical assistance. Later, the police reluctantly reported that several attackers were arrested.
More than a dozen NGOs called on the Georgian government to stop the impeachment process of the president, stating that it is an attack on the country’s aspirations to join the EU. “The president’s impeachment for her attempts at convincing the EU leaders of the need to grant Georgia the candidate status is a direct attack on the EU, which our European partners have also noted,” said the NGOs in a joint statement.
About 100 Georgian writers, translators, publishers, and those working in the field of literature issued a joint statement, refusing “any kind of cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and the House of Writers under its party affiliation.” According to the statement, the boycott of the literary community is caused by the appointment of the ruling party representative as the director of the House of Writers, which they claim was done without any consultations.
Speaking at the Tbilisi International Conference – Defeating Putinism, the US ambassador to the OSCE, Michael Carpenter, said it is in the US’s strategic interest for Georgia to become a member of the European Union and NATO – and it will help the country achieve that goal. The US ambassador also believes that the current wave of the EU enlargement should be regarded as a window of opportunity for Georgia, and its government team should grab the reins.
Director of the main opposition TV outlet “Mtavari Arkhi,” Giorgi Gabunia, claimed that the TV station was rightly labeled as the mouthpiece of the United National Movement (UNM) and said this link is no longer valid. “It will take some years for people to believe that this TV is no longer associated with the UNM, but if you watch us systematically, you will understand that we are not the UNM TV, said Gabunia in “Mtavari Akrkhi” TV program “Your Midday.”
According to some Telegram channels, Russia-occupied Abkhazia’s foreign minister, Inal Ardzinba, has resigned and returned to the Kremlin to back efforts against the “collective West.” The same Telegram channels reported that in the Kremlin, Inal Ardzinba will be responsible for the Russia-Belarus Union State, involving the two states’ political, economic, and military integration.
European External Action Service (EEAS) issued a media advisory, informing on the visit of the top EU diplomat’s scheduled visit to Georgia. According to the EEAS, the EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell will travel to Georgia on 7-8 September, where he will meet the country’s political leadership and representatives of the opposition parties. Borell’s Tbilisi meetings will be focused on Georgia’s EU progress and wider foreign policy and regional matters.
