The Daily Beat: 14 July
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ambiguously reacted to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. In the Georgian language Facebook post, PM Kobakhidze blamed the Global War Party and “liberal fascism” for an attack on Trump, while in his English language post on X, he just condemned the act of violence and expressed solidarity with Trump and the American people without mentioning the Global War Party or “liberal fascism.”
The ruling Georgian Dream MP, Irakli Zarkua also reacted to the attack on the former U.S. president, saying that under the Biden administration, the U.S. known as a beacon of democracy in the world has failed. He further claimed that the U.S. is in no position to criticize other countries or teach morality as it can’t uphold the rights of its presidential candidate.
In an interview with Civil.ge, the U.S. Under Secretary of State, Uzra Zeya expressed “bi-partisan concerns” over Georgia’s anti-democratic trajectory and statements of disinformation that harm the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration, U.S.–Georgia partnership, and human rights. “The United States does not support one political party over another. We do, however, expect our partners to ensure a genuine competitive democratic process during the October Parliamentary elections,” Under Secretary Zeya told Civil.ge.
More than 4,000 workers at Evolution Georgia, an online casino known for employing a large number of Georgian students, went on strike on July 12, demanding a pay raise and proper working conditions. The strike follows longstanding concerns about working conditions for the mostly student staff and recent scandalous chat leaks in which managers allegedly belittled company workers.
President Salome Zurabishvili refused to sign the controversial amendments to the “Law on Funded Pensions” passed by the Parliament in the third and final reading on June 27. “This is not representing the return of the law to the Parliament with motivated objections, i.e., it is not a veto.” Still, the President is sending back the bill for the Parliament Speaker to sign, the President’s Parliamentary Secretary, Giorgi Mskhiladze, said.
On July 12, the newspaper Batumelebi reported that the “Russian Club,” which is positioning itself as an “international cultural-educational union”, is training 50 Russian language teachers from public schools across Georgia in the seaside town of Shekvetili in Western Georgia. Media reports suggested the training was sponsored by Rossotrudnichestvo, the aid and cultural relations branch of the Russian Foreign Ministry sanctioned by the European Union. The “Russian Club” denied the involvement of Russia’s Foreign Ministry in language training.
On July 12, three major judiciary watchdogs, the Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), and the Georgian Court Watch, said in a joint statement that the High Council of Justice (HCoJ) is hindering them from monitoring its sessions, which has been a regular practice for years. The watchdogs say the way this is done contradicts the law and call on HCoJ to reverse the practice.
The State Security Service (SSSG) reported the illegal detention of Georgian citizen by Russian occupation forces near the Tskhinvali occupation line. The SSSG said that upon receiving information about the incident, it activated the “hotline” operated by the EU Monitoring Mission. According to the SSSG, the Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) and international partners have also been informed.
