The situation in Georgia becomes more tense and violent as the Government moves forward with its intention to approve the so-called “foreign agents” law, of Russian inspiration. On Wednesday night, three members of civil society who are leading the protests against this bill were beaten by unknown persons. None of the assailants have been identified or arrested. However, the police arrested six activists this Thursday accused of attacking officers and damaging security cameras during demonstrations organized several days ago against the rule. Hours later, the Georgian ambassador to France, Gotcha Javakhishvili, announced his resignation due to the controversial measure and became the first senior official to resign for this reason. The diplomat explained on social networks that the project distances his country from the path towards integration into Europe.
Meanwhile, the main opposition parties blame the Government for promoting the attacks by hooded men; They point to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in the country, as responsible for what they consider a drift towards an authoritarian regime under the control of Russia. And they demand that the West apply sanctions against the magnate.
Ivanishvili made his fortune in Russia before founding the currently ruling Georgian Dream party in 2012. He was prime minister that year and retired in 2013 to exercise shadow power since then as honorary president of his party, without offering press conferences or interviews. Now that the country has been shaken for a month by almost daily demonstrations against the foreign agents law, the oligarch reemerged from the shadows on April 29 to defend the bill. He did so with a speech in Tbilisi, the country’s capital, in which he blamed NGOs for being “a pseudo-elite fed by foreign countries.” And he threatened the main opposition party, the National Unity Movement, by warning that after the legislative elections, scheduled for October, this party “will receive the punishment it deserves” and will pay “for all crimes against the Georgian people.”
Putin’s methods
Eka Gigauri, president of the NGO Transparency International in Georgia, indicated by phone that Wednesday’s attacks were promoted by the ruling party. “They try to terrorize society. They go to the homes of activists and journalists and put up posters on the walls saying that these people are foreign agents and undermine Georgia’s interests. These are the methods in the style of Vladimir Putin and Aleksandr Lukashenko [presidentes de Rusia y Bielorrusia]. This shows that they are afraid of these demonstrations.”
For his part, deputy Giorgi Vashadze, one of the leaders of the opposition Victory Coalition, points out in a telephone conversation that the person responsible for these attacks is a Government that “acts at the dictates of Moscow.” “On Wednesday night, some gangs of hooded men attacked opponents when they left their homes. and this morning [por el jueves] They have arrested six people who had demonstrated peacefully. But they’re not going to stop us. We have a demonstration scheduled for this Saturday. And on Sunday we have organized an all-night rally in front of Parliament.”
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Researcher Max Fras, from the London School of Economics Consulting, also maintains by telephone that it is the party in Government that is behind the latest attacks. “Only the opponents have been attacked. It is almost comical to see how some members of the ruling Georgian Dream say they feel harassed, when it is the opponents who receive beatings, only them.”
The Georgian NGO Civil Society Foundation denounced this Thursday in a statement: “There is no social, professional or social group left that in recent days has not urged the Government to abandon the Russian law. “Scientists, students, doctors, representatives of culture and sports, businessmen, farmers and other groups are today on the right side of history.”
The Government initiative requires all individuals, NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad to complete an annual declaration. If they present any alleged irregularity, they will receive a fine of 25,000 laris, about 9,000 euros. The third and final reading of the bill is scheduled to begin on Monday, May 13, and will be approved throughout the week. The reform is a carbon copy of the one that Vladimir Putin promoted in 2012 and on which the Kremlin built its impunity.
Authoritarian regime
“The law on foreign agents,” warns Deputy Vashadze, “is only the beginning of what this Government intends to do: turn our country into an authoritarian regime. Then they will come for all of us who are against them, one by one: associations, journalists, politicians…”, he warns.
One of the key points of the current bill is that the Ministry of Justice will be able to demand the information it deems necessary, including personal data, from declared foreign agents. In practice, this puts independent media sources and NGO collaborators at risk.
Both the president of Transparency International Georgia and the deputy Giorgi Vashadze agree in calling on the West to apply economic and other sanctions against the magnate Ivanishvili and his allies. “Bidzina Ivanishvili,” explains the parliamentarian, “has manipulated the economy of this country during her 12 years of shadow power. He has turned Georgia into his private bank. But he does not understand the diplomatic language used by the European Union. He operates with Russian codes and only understands the language of the force. Bidzina and his friends want his children to study in the United States and Europe, not in Moscow. Therefore, if they are prevented from traveling to the West, they will turn back.”
“The problem,” adds the opposition deputy, “is that the West always acts in a reactive and defensive manner, in the face of already accomplished facts. But statements are no longer enough, sanctions must be applied, free countries have to help the people who are fighting here for freedom.”
For his part, Eka Gigauri believes that the tycoon is indifferent to EU funding cuts for specific projects in Georgia. “His priorities lie in safeguarding his assets and protecting his corrupt network,” he concludes.
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