The Daily Beat: 14 April
On April 14, Georgia celebrated Mother Tongue Day, honoring a significant event from 1978 when widespread public resistance compelled Soviet authorities to abandon their attempts to remove Georgian as a state language. This year’s observance coincides with the 138th consecutive day of anti-regime protests against the Georgian Dream government’s reversal of EU integration and ongoing repression.
Thousands of students, professors, civic activists, and relatives of detained activists marched from Tbilisi State University to the parliament building to honor those who opposed Soviet repression nearly five decades ago. They also protested against the anti-Western stance of the Georgian Dream (GD) government and its Russian-style repressions. As a result, Rustaveli Avenue was once again blocked to traffic. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, don’t forget to follow our live blog.
The ruling Georgian Dream party intends to appeal to the Constitutional Court to ban the main opposition parties following the local elections scheduled for October of this year. “We are prepared for the Georgian people to give a rightful response to the parties associated with the agents’ network in this year’s local elections and to achieve a significant victory. After that, we will prepare a strong and well-documented constitutional case, which should serve as the basis for the Constitutional Court to ban the collective United National Movement,” stated GD parliamentary leader Mamuka Mdinaradze.
The Legal Issues Committee of the Georgian Dream (GD) parliament has approved, during its first hearing, draft amendments to the laws governing Political Unions of Citizens and changes to the Organic Law of Georgia concerning the Constitutional Court. This legislative package expands the authority of the Constitutional Court, allowing it to ban political parties. Additionally, the committee has approved amendments that would prohibit political parties from receiving donations from either Georgian or foreign legal entities without prior approval from the GD government.
Unlike other opposition leaders, Giorgi Gakharia, the former Prime Minister of Georgia from 2019 to 2021 and the current leader of the opposition party For Georgia, appeared before the Georgian Dream (GD) parliament’s temporary investigative commission. Gakharia was summoned to testify about the violent crackdown on protesters that occurred on June 20, 2019. Gakharia’s appearance before the commission sparked rumors that he would abandon the “non-recognition” policy of the GD parliament and join it in the coming weeks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has reiterated its willingness to restore diplomatic relations with Tbilisi. However, it emphasized that Moscow’s decision to withdraw recognition of the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states is “not subject to revision.” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stated in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, “We are prepared to restore diplomatic relations. We are willing to go as far as the Georgian side is willing to go. There are no restrictions on our side.”