The Daily Beat: 7 April
Today, the Georgian Dream party tabled draft amendments to the “Law on Grants.” According to the new amendments, the consent of the Georgian Dream government or an authorized person appointed by the government will be required to obtain foreign grants. Any foreign grant received without consent will be restricted and subject to certain liability. The Georgian Dream party claims that it plans to approve these amendments through a fast-track legislative procedure.
The Supreme Council of Adjara has approved the candidacy of UK-sanctioned high-ranking police official Sulkhan Tamazashvili for the post of Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. Commenting on Tamazashvili’s appointment, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze did not miss the opportunity to mock foreign sanctions, saying that Sulkhan Tamazashvili will receive his salary “very well,” “beautifully,” and “officially.” “What I can tell you is that your sanctions do not work,” Kobakhidze told reporters.
Speaking with reporters, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that Ukraine is benefiting from good cooperation with Europe because of the war. He also took credit for avoiding the “Ukrainian scenario” in Georgia, which he claimed “infuriated” the “deep state.” “In Ukraine, there is war, destruction, and huge casualties, but as a counterbalance, there is good cooperation with European bureaucracy,” noted Kobakhidze.
On April 6, Shalva Papuashvili,Speaker of the Georgian Dream Parliament, accompanied by a GD delegation, participated in the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. During the event, Papuashvili delivered a speech to the IPU Assembly and held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Israel, Turkey, and Belgium. In his speech, Papuashvili spoke about the parliament’s role “in shaping societies that are just, inclusive, and progressive.”
While in Tashkent, Shalva Papuashvili lashed out at the UK, claiming that the UK government was trying to interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs through a new election-focused grant program. Papuashvili told reporters that the initiative by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) “serves exactly the same purpose as previous U.S. financial assistance,” which he alleged was used to “interfere in other countries, change governments and destabilize them.”
Speaking at the French Renaissance party rally in Paris on 6 April, President Salome Zurabishvili urged the European Union to act decisively against authoritarian influences within its ranks. Zurabishvili also warned that Russia’s evolving sophisticated hybrid strategy in Georgia could have wider geopolitical consequences for Europe if the bloc loses the country to which it had granted candidate status. She received an enthusiastic reception from the audience, with her speech interrupted several times by applause.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has appointed Lasha Gogniashvili as the new head of the Tbilisi Police Department, replacing Sulkhan Tamazashvili, a UK-sanctioned official who has been named head of the local government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. Gogniashvili has faced allegations of police violence in the past. In 2012, activists from the then-opposition Georgian Dream accused him of violence while serving as chief of police in Kareli, under the previous United National Movement government.
Tbilisi City Court has remanded into custody eight activists accused of group violence during anti-regime protests, moving the case to a substantive hearing scheduled for April 23. As anti-regime protests enter their 131st day, the defendants face serious charges, with the first three accused of organizing and directing the violence, carrying potential sentences of six to nine years in prison, while the others face four to six years for alleged participation. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, follow our live blog.