The Daily Beat: 18 April

Poland has banned eight representatives of Georgian law enforcement authorities from entering its territory. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this decision on April 17 in response to the increasing repression of the opposition in Georgia. The ministry also expressed Poland’s support for Georgian society’s pro-European aspirations.

In an interview with pro-government Rutavi 2 TV, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke on various topics, including the upcoming local elections, plans to ban the opposition, the GD parliament’s investigation into the United National Movement regarding the August 2008 war, his controversial statement from April 9, recent amendments to the Law on Grants, and the prisoners arrested during pro-EU protests.

Talking on the August 2008 war, a topic that has generated significant controversy, Irakli Kobakhidze emphasized the ruling party’s position that it was “Saakashvili’s regime” that instigated the conflict, acting on “orders” from outside forces. He clarified that by making this statement, Georgian Dream is not blaming the country as a whole.

In an interview, Kobakhidze also commented on his earlier statement on April 9, in which he referred to a “foreign power” – without naming the Soviet Union or Russia – that he said “committed violence” on Rustaveli Avenue 36 years, responding to critics by mocking, “Georgian liberals and liberals in general have a limited mind.” He also stated, “Those who dispersed the April 9, 1989 demonstration and caused deaths included not only Russians, but also Ukrainians, Balts, Central Asians, and others. It was the Soviet Union.”

Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili slammed the EU, saying that the visa-free issue was being used “by a part of the Brussels bureaucracy” as a “tool of political pressure and blackmail,” adding: “These are methods from a hundred years ago,” while also expressing confidence that the European Union would not suspend the country’s visa-free travel regime.

The message regarding “blackmail” and the attempt to contrast free travel with national sovereignty has also been reiterated by other MPs from the Georgian Dream (GD) parliament. Nino Tsilosani, the vice speaker of the GD parliament, posted on Facebook: “Visa-free travel is indeed convenient, and we earned this privilege during the Georgian Dream government. However, if this comfort comes into conflict with patriotism, the Georgian people have always been, and will continue to be, patriots of their country.”

GD Education Minister Aleksandre Tsuladze said Chinese as a second language will be taught in Georgian schools where there is demand. “A standard for Chinese as a second language will be established and work will begin on developing educational resources for teaching Chinese,” the GD Education Ministry statement reads.

Recent legislative changes requiring foreign donors to obtain executive approval before disbursing grants to local organizations have sparked significant outcry from Georgia’s European and American partners. They have expressed concerns that these changes are repressive and will further diminish independent voices in Georgia. Civil.ge has compiled international reactions to the adoption of these repressive legislative changes.

A trilateral meeting between Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia was held in Tbilisi on April 17, with the participation of Georgian Dream deputy foreign minister Lasha Darsalia and his counterparts, Azerbaijan’s Elnur Mammadov and Armenia’s Vahan Kostanyan, along with their delegations. GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili also took part in the talks. “It is nothing but Georgia’s genuine desire to advance regional cooperation and to identify common interests that unite us and bring us to this table today,” Botchorishvili said in her opening remarks.

U.S. Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson urged OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu to postpone his planned visit to Georgia next week, warning, “Meetings with high-level Georgian Dream officials will only serve to legitimize their positions and recent government actions.” “If you proceed with meetings in Tbilisi next week, you will send a message that you – and potentially the OSCE – endorse the Georgian Dream government and its anti-democratic actions,” Rep. Wilson warns in his letter.