During a campaign rally in the town of Gori, near the occupation line, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, made controversial statements. He pledged to apologize to Ossetians for the 2008 war and promised to arrange a “Nuremberg process” for ex-President Saakashvili and his United National Movement party. He also blamed the war on “external forces” without mentioning Russia’s responsibility for military invasion and occupation.
Despite being overshadowed by Merab Dvalishvili’s victory in the UFC bantamweight world championship, Ivanishvili’s remarks sparked public outcry on social media. A protest was held in front of the parliament building on Sunday evening, with hundreds of people gathering to denounce Ivanishvili’s comments and the “Kremlin’s dictate.”
In response to concerns about possible Russian meddling in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that Russia does not have the resources to significantly influence the electoral process. He claimed that other powers have more influence due to their control over media and political parties.
Last week, the Communications Commission (ComCom) upheld two complaints filed by the ruling Georgian Dream party against opposition-leaning TV stations. One complaint was about the refusal of some channels to broadcast the party’s advertisement, which they claimed contained “hate speech.” The other complaint was about the placement of individual political ads by parties currently in coalition with other parties, alleging unequal distribution of airtime for free political advertisements.
The Tbilisi City Court has reportedly authorized the Anti-Corruption Bureau to access the personal data, including bank account information, of the founders of the newly launched “Vote for Europe” movement and the organization itself. The movement’s lawyer, Kakha Kozhoridze, called the court decision “absolutely unlawful” and stated that it will be appealed in the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.
Residents of Shukruti village gathered in front of the parliament building to protest damage allegedly caused by Georgian Manganese’s underground mining. They claim to have never received compensation and accuse the company of forging documents. They are demanding government action. However, the company denies these claims.
On September 12, the 121th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting was held in Ergneti, near the Tskhinvali occupation line. The meeting was co-facilitated by the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Read More @ civil.ge