The Daily Beat: 19 October
Following the failure of the Parliament to impeach the President, the ruling party representatives threatened the President with criminal prosecution in case she continued international visits without the consent of the Government. “If she goes on another visit at her own expense, it will be another gross violation of the Constitution… The Constitution states that failure to comply with the court’s decision is punishable by law, and the law essentially means the criminal law…” – stated the ruling party chairman, Irakli Kobakhidze.
The Chief of Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili, claimed that the French side had not contacted respective Georgian authorities for legal assistance on the Arras terrorist matter. “This [case] is being investigated by the French investigative services. As far as I know, they have not contacted the Georgian side for legal assistance,” Liluashvili told journalists. Two days ago, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that the father of Mohammed Mogouchkov, who killed a French teacher in Arras, lives in Georgia, “where he has not yet been questioned.”
Speaking at a roundtable – “Cultural and Social Space of Abkhazia and Russia,” the “security council secretary” of Russia-occupied Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, said that Abkhazia is a “part of the Russian world.” “Abkhazian society is attuned to the Russian world and takes part in the creation of the Russian world. We want to be and are a part of the Russian world,” noted Sergei Shamba at a roundtable discussion in Sokhumi.
In an interview with a local news agency, the head of the Russia-occupied Tskhnivali’s “foreign intelligence service,” Alexey Varziev, spoke of increased revanchist sentiments in Georgia. “Despite the peace-loving rhetoric of official Tbilisi, which at the current stage maintains a fairly balanced position based on avoiding confrontation in relations with the Russian Federation, there is an increase in revanchist sentiments in Georgian society, which are actively fueled by Western countries,” – said Alexey Varziev.
In the meantime, Georgia’s State Security Service continues an active investigation of the “training plot,” summoning director Giorgi Savaneli for questioning. The security services have questioned actresses, photographers, and other people from the art community over the “training plot” case. At the beginning of October, the security agency claimed it had uncovered a “training plot” funded by the USAID and involving Serbian trainers, recruiting activists for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s elected government.
Police prevented TV reporters and activists from the opposition United National Movement (UNM) from reaching Chorvila, the birthplace of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, as a group of supporters of jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili, marched from Tbilisi to Chorvila to protest against “oligarchic rule” in Georgia. Local supporters of the ruling party are also believed to have joined forces with the police to restrict access to the village.
Data of the Day
National Statistics Office (Geostat) published preliminary data indicating that in January-September 2023, Georgia’s foreign trade increased by 16.5% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, totaling $15.9 billion in value. During the same period, exports from Georgia increased by 12.7% to $4.6 billion, while imports rose by 18.2% to $11.3 billion. According to National Statistics data, in January-September 2023, Turkey was Georgia’s largest trade partner with $2.2 billion in trade volume, followed by Russia with $1.88 billion, United States with $1.47 billion, China with $1.26 billion, and Azerbaijan with $1.08 billion.
