The Daily Beat: 9 March
As Georgia entered the 101st day of non-stop protests, women gathered in three cities – Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi – to mark International Women’s Day. In the capital, they marched from Republic Square to the Parliament building, carrying symbolic prison cells and demanding the release of prisoners, including jailed female journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli. The protesters again blocked Rustaveli Avenue.
Continuing his visits to Central Asia countries, on March 6, the Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze,accompanied by a GD government delegation, visited Turkmenistan, where he met with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.According to the official press release, the Turkmen and Georgian leaders discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation, focusing on the importance of connectivity and the development of the Middle Corridor.
Georgian Dream parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused international organizations, foreign diplomats, and Western governments of alleged interference in the country’s political and judicial affairs. Papuashvili called the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) a “fraudulent organization”, further blaming the Baltic states of trying to replace the Georgian government, and criticized diplomats from Belgium, Lithuania, and the UK for allegedly “undermining the country’s sovereignty.”
On March 7, thirteen non-resident ambassadors, including eleven newly appointed diplomats from Belgium, Luxembourg, Philippines, Cambodia, Cyprus, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Burundi, Guatemala, Mali, South Korea, and Tajikistan, presented their credentials to the Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili at the Orbeliani Palace. The meeting took place amidst the contested legitimacy of the presidency of Kavelashvili, who was elected by the single-party electoral college.
Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Konstantinidi claims that more than 1.5 million Georgian citizens live abroad. He said the figure was “unofficial” and could be “inaccurate” because many Georgians live abroad illegally. According to the Foreign Minister, around 700,000 Georgians live in Russia, while Russia’s 2020 general census suggests that there are 113,687 people identified as ethnic Georgians living in the Russian Federation, of whom 3,045 held Georgian citizenship.
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) calls on Georgian authorities to repeal the anti-LGBT law on the “protection of family values and minors” that cracks down on LGBT rights, including the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, in the country. In its interim resolution, referring to the cases against Georgia, the committee of ministers strongly urged Georgia to fight discrimination and hate crimes in line with its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The U.S. Senate is set to consider the MEGOBARI Act, a bipartisan bill that envisages sanctions against the GD government officials for human rights abuses and undermining democracy. The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to take up the legislation “early next week”, according to congressional sources cited by Washington, DC-based correspondent Alex Raufoglu.