Tbilisi State University Allegedly Obstructs Student Discussion on Agents’ Law

The School of Political Education, a local CSO accused the management of Tbilisi State University (TSU) of attempting to obstruct the panel discussion on the Russian-style foreign agents law by denying the organizers a proper space on its premises, according to the statement by the organization. The statement said that despite the university administration’s obstructive efforts, the event eventually didi take place on 24 April, albeit in a smaller auditorium.

According to the statement, the history of the new-born CSO began in that very university with the participation of its students, and all of its projects have been held at the premises of TSU, as the recent panel discussion should not have been an exception.

“We believe that the university should not be the place where you [only] study what political rights, freedom of speech, civil society […] are, [and] you are not allowed to exercise them in practice,” the statement reads, adding, “For this very reason, we deemed it necessary to express our position on the ongoing current issue in the country within the walls of the university, on this law [on foreign agents], and to provide more information on this issue to the students [and others] with the participation of the distinguished lecturers of TSU.”

The statement says it was a matter of principle to hold the panel discussion in the university’s first building as it is the central building of the TSU with its historical, symbolic significance.

According to the statement, the organization wend through all the bureaucratic steps involved in reserving the relevant room. However, TSU administration denied the alternative room in that particular building “because all the auditoriums were occupied”. The the organization points out, after this argument was made, all auditoriums in the first building were checked and most were found to be available for use, locked.

The organization says that a room offered by the university in its sixth building was not large enough considering the number of people interested in attending the event. As a result, due to the room’s smaller size, many participants had to either leave or stand throughout the meeting.

Although the statement emphasizes that Tbilisi State University, as an educational institution, should not be politicized, it also criticizes the TSU for “silence” regarding the ongoing developments as regards foreign agents law, saying that “the university should raise its voice when the country moves away from democracy and European values.”

“The university is silent, and that silence shouts loudly,” the statement says.

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• 27/12/2022 – Jaba Samushia Elected as Rector of TSU

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