A wave of drug-related deaths over the past two weeks has reignited the nearly year-long debate on Georgia’s drug policy reform, pitting conservative politicians with activists advocating more liberal drug policy. So far, the government dithers, but is leaning towards the hard line. In recent weeks, at least five young …
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Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili presenting the details of the new peace initiative, April 4, 2018. Photo: smr.gov.ge On April 4, the Georgian government presented a new peace initiative under the title of “A step to a better future.” The document was mostly received positively in Georgia, but what future does …
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Patriarchate of Georgia. Photo: Eana Korbezashvili/Civil.ge Georgia debates teaching religion at school The ways of the lord are impenetrable. Rather than spur the government into action to prevent bullying in schools, the fate of two underage schoolboys, stabbed to death by their peers in downtown Tbilisi in December 2017, brought …
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On 25 January many Georgians are expected to hit the streets in protest for 8 years prison sentence handed down by the Georgian court to Giorgi Giorganashvili for the possession 0.375 grams of Burprenorphene (Subutex), an opiate. Giorganashvili claims the drugs were planted to exert pressure. The protest will be …
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Grab from video footage showing Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko (left) granting Ukrainian citizenship to Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili (right) after announcing his appointment as governor of Odessa region in southwestern Ukraine. May 29, 2015. People are speaking a lot – perhaps too much – about Mikheil Saakashvili these days, whether …
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Thomas de Waal. Photo: Larissa Wilson Civil Georgia interviewed Thomas de Waal, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe, Brussels-based think tank on European foreign policy analysis. In your mind what are the chances for the Georgian democracy to develop further in the coming years? I should make a few general observations about …
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VOA Interview with President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Tbilisi. Photo: VOA Voice of America’s Nana Sajaia sat down with President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Tbilisi to discuss different aspects of Georgia’s foreign and domestic policies, as well as to talk about U.S.-Georgia relations and assess the importance of Vice President Mike Pence’s …
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Over 1,000 workers were killed or injured in occupational accidents in Georgia from 2011–2016, according to data compiled by the Applied Research Company, a consultancy. Almost every month, yet another worker plunges to his death from Tbilisi’s shockingly unprotected highrise construction sites or a story of worker humiliation or exploitation …
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Students lead the way In March 2016 Georgia’s oldest and largest university, Tbilisi State University (TSU) was shaken by a week-long student protest which grabbed national headlines. Sparked by alleged mismanagement of university funds by the officially sanctioned Students’ Union, their demands soon encompassed fundamental reform of the higher …
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Events of historic consequence are occurring in Syria’s eastern desert and the Euphrates valley. Out of the countless events of the Syrian war so far, the present moment may be the most important one in deciding the near geopolitical future of the Fertile Crescent. Daesh—the so-called Islamic State—is falling. Chances are, it will remain …
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Patrol cars of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM). Photo: EUMM This past spring, the observers of largely anemic diplomatic talks in Geneva were exited to hear the reluctant confirmation by the Georgian foreign ministry of the “minor progress” regarding the non-use-of-force (NUF) agreement. This followed on Russian …
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Georgia`s diplomatic spat with EU Special Representative (EUSR) Herbert Salber last week was as bad-tempered as it was unnecessary. Worse, the confidence-wrecking outburst makes the real differences between Georgia and the EU on breakaway regions even more difficult to address. Ambassador Salber represents the EU in Geneva International Discussions (GID), …
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On March 28, the UN Security Council held a closed door discussion on developments in Georgia at Ukraine’s request. Speaking at his press briefing after the Security Council meeting, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Volodymyr Yelchenko said one of the matters of concern was “the attempts of annexation and …
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In December 2016, the South Ossetian political scene was rocked by the sudden announcement of ex-president Eduard Kokoity (2006–2011) that he was planning to take part in the presidential elections, which are scheduled for 9 April. On 4 March, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of South Ossetia refused to register …
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By Hans Gutbrod Turnout decided the election. More so than usual this parliamentary election was decided by who came to vote. Little more than 25% of the population has given the Georgian Dream a massive majority in the parliament. A ruling party that has not collapsed on itself will typically …
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US is Targeted by the Russian Active Measures Russia is trying to influence the outcome of the American presidential election, but also to damage its very legitimacy in the eyes of the voters. The US is right to respond by naming the culprit. American politicians and political organizations are being …
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Trump’s election can change the world a heartbeat Early summer 1914 was tranquil, with international instability of the previous several years seemingly wearing down. When people opened newspapers and read that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria had been murdered in Sarajevo on 28 June, few granted exceptional significance to that …
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As the West continues to struggle with the consequences of financial and humanitarian crises, European liberal democracies have come under heavy pressure from insurgent political parties. These parties are newer, smaller and considerably more radical than their traditional counterparts. Their approval rates are growing rapidly as popular resentment towards established …
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Distribution of seats in Georgia’s 150-seat Parliament. GD won’t be able to pass a constitutional amendment, requiring support of at least 113 votes, without the support of MPs from UNM parliamentary minority group. Withdrawal of Irakli Alasania’s Free Democrats (FD) party from the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling coalition has affected …
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Irakli Alasania, ex-defense minister and leader of the Free Democrats, said on November 5 that his party quit the Georgian Dream ruling coalition. Alasania made the announcement, which did not come as a surprise following his dismissal from defense minister’s post by PM Irakli Garibashvili a day earlier, after his …
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