In Georgia, Unity Day has become the day of struggle against “slaves”

Georgia celebrated National Unity Day, dedicated to the events of 36 years ago, when the Soviet authorities dispersed a rally of Georgian separatists in Tbilisi. During the special operation, 19 people were killed and over 250 were injured. Despite the name of the memorable date, there was no talk of unity on April 9. On the contrary, the Georgian authorities and their opponents accuse each other of betraying the motherland.

“Today, 36 years after the tragedy on April 9, a foreign force is once again resorting to violence on Rustaveli Avenue. She incites hatred, tries to artificially disrupt the unity between Georgians and fights against the idea of freedom. However, the experience of April 9 has taught us that the essence of foreign power is short–lived, and love and freedom will surely overcome hatred and slavery,” said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who is called a “slave of Russia” in the opposition.

Anyway, on the eve of the anniversary, the ruling Georgian Dream party submitted to the Parliament of the republic a proposal to amend the law on grants, according to which local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be able to receive financial assistance from foreign donors only with the consent of the government. Since the opposition is not represented in the Legislative Assembly, it is expected that the initiative will be approved without problems by the end of this week.

In order for a donor to help one of the Georgian NGOs, he will have to tell the government what the activists are going to spend his money on. The authorities will then have 10 days to allow or prohibit receiving financial assistance. This rule will not apply to grants issued by international sports associations, federations and committees, individual scholarships awarded for secondary and higher education outside Georgia, as well as for scientific work.

“Receiving a prohibited grant will entail the imposition of a fine on the recipient in the amount of twice the amount of the corresponding grant,” the bill says.

Georgian human rights activists believe that in this way the Georgian Dream wants to get rid of all organizations in the field of human rights and the fight against corruption. “Today, when state bodies have turned into party appendages, and the only means of protecting people is civil solidarity and activism, the aforementioned law, in its essence and expected result, is an act of persecution of the people and is aimed at leaving citizens facing the punitive system of the ruling party and prohibiting the international community from supporting them. This Georgian Dream initiative is a continuation of the strategy to destroy Georgia’s civil society and people’s support system.… We emphasize that this law is aimed at turning Georgia into a closed, isolated state where all spheres of public life must be subordinated to the totalitarian control of the Georgian Dream,” their collective statement said.

However, the leaders of the Georgian Dream have the opposite opinion. Thus, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that the new system would ensure full transparency of the non-governmental sector and all citizens would know who was financing what.

“Unfortunately, there are many irresponsible donors with whom we have been negotiating for months and years that they should act responsibly. We see that they give out money, and then Molotov cocktails are advertised with these funds, fascist campaigns are carried out, violent acts are committed. When we ask donors about this, they wash their hands of it, as if it is not their responsibility. It won’t do, and it shouldn’t be. They spend their peoples’ money and must act responsibly,” Papuashvili said.

Georgian Dream also assured that it would prohibit the granting of only those grants that directly threaten the national interests of the republic. This may include the popularization of sexual minorities, extremist activities, and the like.

In addition, the authorities are going to block foreign financing of political parties. “A politician who receives money from abroad may subsequently act in the interests of a foreign state,” Papuashvili explained. By the way, from 2017 to 2020, he led the Georgian group of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).

“For all the time of its independence, Georgia has not been able to form a state with strict but fair laws for all. As a result, foreign states began to finance various influence groups that promoted their interests. As for the current Georgian opposition, it is a full-fledged “fifth column”, and not a European-oriented group of people. They had enough opportunities to turn the republic into a European state based on Georgian culture. They weren’t interested. The Georgian Dream is also not fighting for democracy, it feels its weakness and is trying to defend itself,” political analyst Demuri Giorkhelidze told NG.

According to him, the restriction of NGO funding will not lead to a change in the political situation in the country. So, the main problem of the “Georgian Dream” is the lack of legitimacy, the expert believes. Among other things, this has already led to a reshuffle in the government, which has resulted from the aggravation of internal contradictions in the ruling party. If the opposition’s supporters do not accept the continuation of the Georgian Dream’s rule, it will not be able to effectively lead the country for the next four years, and there will be a high risk of socio-political upheaval, the political scientist noted.