The Daily Beat: 18 February
On the 83rd consecutive day of anti-regime rallies, thousands of demonstrators blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue. Participants from various marches and rallies gathered once again near the parliament. As a symbolic gesture to honor the birthday of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream, the protesters brought black balloons. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, follow our live blog.
Mzia Amaghlobeli, the imprisoned journalist and director of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, has ended her hunger strike after 38 days, her colleague Eter Turadze announced on February 18, reading out Amaghlobeli’s letter sent from the Vivamedi clinic. Mzia Amaghlobeli was arrested on January 12 for slapping the Batumi police chief, Irakli Dgebuadze, in the face after he mistreated her in pre-trial detention.
President Salome Zurabishvili was pelted with eggs by alleged government-paid thugs at Tbilisi International Airport this morning, February 18, as she arrived from the Munich Security Conference. A video of the incident shows a woman verbally confronting Zurabishvili, calling her a traitor and a slave, followed by several others throwing eggs at her.
President Salome Zurabishvili said she had filed a complaint and demanded an investigation after being pelted with eggs by government-paid thugs on her arrival at Tbilisi International Airport. Speaking at a press briefing, she described the attack as a ‘pre-organized’ act of violence, calling it “the little spite of little men,” and noted that it was later justified by representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party.
The GD-elected President, Mikheil Kavelashvili, congratulated the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka, on his victory in the recent presidential elections, according to a press release from the office of the Belarusian president. In his congratulatory letter, Kavelashvili also thanked the Belarusian leader for heartfelt congratulations and kind wishes on the occasion of his election as President.
Speaking to reporters, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that just a refusal not to accept Ukraine in NATO is not enough now and “the alliance must disavow the Bucharest promise of 2008.” She made this comment while U.S.-Russia talks were still ongoing in Saudi Arabia. The Bucharest Summit Declaration of 2008 stipulates NATO’s commitment that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of NATO.
On February 18, the Georgian State Security Service (SSSG) reported that Kakha Tsevelidze and Giorgi Chitadze, who the Russian occupation forces had illegally detained, had been released and are now in the Tbilisi-controlled territory. The SSSG stated that the release process involved using the operational hotline mechanism of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) and “all other relevant instruments at the disposal of the central government.”
A new left-wing political movement, the Movement for Social Democracy, was founded in Georgia on February 17 to promote social justice and support ongoing protests that may lead to new elections. The movement unites over 100 members, including activists focused on workers’ rights, safe working conditions, accessible healthcare, education, and equality in judicial processes.