The Daily Beat: 6 October
The daily circus of partisan haggling was punctured today by two tragedies that point to the depth of the fundamental problems this cacophony obscures.
A 14-year-old girl was killed by her “husband” in the village of Iormuganlo of Sagarejo municipality. This tragedy points to the reality of the practice of “child brides” persisting in some ethnic and geographic communities and the failure of the institutions to prevent and address it. Civic leaders and human rights activists say the practices are challenging to eradicate due to systemic neglect and structural problems in education, social support, and policing. The Public Defender said the state is not doing enough to address the problem of early marriage and femicide.
In another drama, the Police charged a man for killing a friend he lived with “based on sexual minority intolerance.” Intolerance towards sexual minorities, albeit somewhat diminishing, remains widespread across social and age groups, polls show.
Three public schools in Samegrelo region’s Chkhorotsku went on strike, with teachers and students protesting delays in electing the principals. Locals suspect that the Ministry is vetting the candidates for political loyalty.
The ruling party rammed through the Parliament amendments to the law on rallies and manifestations that would give broad discretion for the police to disband or detain protesters who may want to erect non-permanent “structures” (such as stages, tents, etc.). The government got scolded by the U.S. for the amendments. In a bizarre development, the ruling party leader, Irakli Kobakhidze, said the law would be promulgated without the President’s signature. The statement was broadcast by the government mouthpiece, but the party spokesperson said later it was a “joke” aimed to “show the legal incompetence of the opposition.” President Zurabishvili told the pranksters she would veto the bill.
Hungary’s Victor Orban gave full-throated support to Georgia’s EU candidacy and said Brussels treated the country ” unfairly ” while casting doubts on Ukraine’s chances for EU membership. Next week will see the bromance between Europe-bashing “Fidesz” leader and PM Garibashvili get into higher gear, as the joint meeting of two governments is planned in Tbilisi.
In the meantime, reporters from Brussels say the EC will report on the progress of the candidate and aspirant countries on November 8. In anticipation, Pawel Herczynski, EU Ambassador in Tbilisi, mentioned “mixed messages” coming from official Tbilisi and named an attempted impeachment of President Zurabishvili, pressure on CSOs, and events around the National Bank as some of the current concerns.
In a late-night post aimed at the U.S. time zone, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili asked unnamed European countries to hand over David Kezerashvili, who he says is an “oligarch” who is pushing the “starkly unpopular” Formula TV to push “propaganda and lies” and “took over” the United National Movement, the key opposition party. “By not handling him to Georgian authorities, politics and criminality become intertwined,” laments Papuashvili.
