The Georgian Orthodox Church mobilized thousands of people in Tbilisi to prevent activists for the rights of sexual minorities to peacefully mark the International Day Against Homophobia. (DFWatch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Thousands of parishioners and clerics from the Georgian Orthodox Church May 17 prevented LGBT rights activists from carrying through a peaceful rally against homophobia in downtown Tbilisi.

According to the health minister, the day ended with 28 injured. Two of them were journalists.

Even though there was no note or plan to block the roads in order to avoid incidents, the Interior Ministry closed off Rustaveli Avenue from morning. Thick police cordons were established on the streets in order not to let clerics and parishioners leave the area around parliament.

The rally against LGBT people started from early morning as parishioners gathered in front of the old parliament building holding nettles.

When asked, one of the women holding this plant explained to DF Watch that they were going to use them in order to ‘punish those who violate the values of Orthodox Christianity.’

At the end of the day, 28 people had been injured, according to Health Minister Davit Sergeenko. (DFWatch photo.)

“Homosexuality is genocide of our nation,’ ‘I cannot accept propaganda for immorality,’ ‘faggots out of Georgia,’ ‘we won’t allow Sodom Gomorra sins here,’ some of the posters read. Many of the protesters were dressed in black t-shirts, which read ‘the homeland calls on us.’

The majority of the parishioners and citizens against LGBT activists claimed they do not like gays ‘shown publicly’ and the majority of them considered today’s planned rally as some sort of ‘gay parade’, despite a number of explanations from the organizers.

“Do you like what is happening here? We should protect our children from this and this is my right. So if we talk about protection of rights, my right is to protect my children and my country from gay parades,” one of the activists told DF Watch.

LGBT activists started gathering at different spots on Pushkini Square, instead of parliament building. The plan was to held a 30 minute rally, but they were prevented from going through with it.

Soon clerics and other protesters broke through the police cordon and started running in the direction of Pushkin Square. The police tried to get the LGBT activists away from the square using buses and minibuses.

Protesters ran after the buses and attacked them. Some media outlets posted videos of how they attack and broke the windows of a minibus where gay rights activists are sitting inside.

Police wasn’t able to stop the crowd, and the cordon was finally entirely broken and the police freely allowed them to leave Rustaveli Avenue.

What was supposed to have been a peaceful 30 minutes event changed into confusion after thousands of counter-demonstrators broke through the police cordon and went after the LGBT campaigners. (DFWatch photo.)

The Interior Ministry called on citizens to leave Rustaveli Avenue, keep the peace and respect the law; however violent incidents took place several times at different times and places in the capital during whole day.

DF Watch witnessed a man hit by a car. During the incident, which took place close to Freedom Square, the victim broke his leg, while one policeman had a slight injury to his arm, while another policeman was taken to the hospital with an injured leg.

A journalist for Radio Fortuna was also injured. She sustained an injury to her head while protesters were throwing stones.

Imedi TV reported that one foreign journalist was also injured.

In all, 28 people were injured, according to Minister of Health Davit Sergeenko. One of them is a minor, four policemen, one of whom has broken a leg. Eleven are still in hospital.

After the first clashes, different information was reported among the protesters about the location of the LGBT activists. Hundreds of people were literally running in different directions in crowds to follow after them and beat them.

The running ended near Tbilisi Event Hall. Rally participants claimed that LGBT people were hiding at a local supermarket and were expecting them to come out, but they didn’t. Finally some of the priests addressed the crowd of activists via a megaphone and called on them to go to Sameba Cathedral, the largest church in Georgia, to attend prayer and then dissolve.

Counter-demonstrators besieged a supermarket, believing that the gay rights activists had sought refuge inside. (DFWatch photo.)

The Deputy Interior Minister came to Freedom Square in order ‘to negotiate’ with rally participants, but was threatened by a cleric.

“They shouldn’t start a rally here, otherwise blood will be spilled.”

Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili said at a press conference that the International Day Against Homophobia was transformed into a day of “revealing homophobia in Georgia.”

He said the police wasn’t able to maintain the cordon established in the morning.

“The ombudsman considers that despite its attempt, the Interior Ministry wasn’t able to organize to take proper measures,” he said, adding that the goal of the counter rally was not a peaceful protest but physical confrontation with LGBT people.

From last year’s demonstration. (DFWatch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Rallies are planned in Tbilisi today to prevent a gathering of activists who want to mark the International Day Against Homophobia.

The two organizations Identoba and Women’s Initiative Support Group announced about a month ago that they were planning a 30-minute flash mob rally at 13:00 May 17 on Rustaveli Avenue to protest the violation of the rights of LGBT people. The announcement caused consternation especially among religious groups.

Up to ten organizations launched a movement which aims to prohibit ‘propaganda and advertising of perverted sexual relations’ in Georgia.

Today from 09:00 am people plan to gather in front of the old parliament building in Tbilisi to condemn what they call the ‘propaganda’ of LGBT people and to demand a prohibition. According to the plan, at 11:00 they will be joined by parish and clerics.

Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II, who has large influence in great part of Georgian population, on Thursday appealed to Tbilisi City Hall and government to withdraw the permission for the planned May 17 rally on Rustaveli.

“The Church considers people with such inclinations as persons of severe sin, who need support and help for improvement, not encouragement,” his statement reads.

Tbilisi City Hall responded that May 17 there are planned rallies in front of parliament regarding the International Day Against Homophobia, while clerics and parish plan an assembly on Rustaveli Avenue in front of a school there.

City Hall drew attention to the fact that the law on assembly and demonstrations only obliges citizens to notify the local government about rallies. There are not issued, nor required, permissions for rallies.

According to the City Hall statement, they have notified the patrol police department of the Interior Ministry about the May 17 events.

Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili on Thursday said he is sure that the police will act adequately and the constitution will be defended.

“I am against any kind of violence and discrimination. It should become the rule of our lives. No-one’s rights should be violated in the country, but if anyone thinks their rights are violated or in danger, they must have the right to openly observe their opinion,” he said.

A few days ago, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said during a press conference that the police will protect the rights of the participants at the anti-homophobia rally.

“I’ve repeatedly stated that sexual minorities are members of society just like any of us and their rights should be protected,” he said. “We’ll do everything to protect the rights of minorities.”

Organizers of the May 17 rally on Thursday held a conference to discuss the problems LGBT people are experiencing in Georgia together with non-governmental organizations and foreign diplomats, as well as a few representatives from the government.

During the conference, the French Ambassador to Georgia said he fears the May 17 rally might transform into ‘a celebration of homophobia’ as LGBT people might be way less than those organizing the protest against them.

Thomas Hammarberg, the EU’s Special Representative in Georgia, expressed hope that there won’t be any violence at today’s rally. He said it is important that everyone can express their own opinion without being threatened with violence.

During the conference, Hammarberg spoke about the problems of LGBT people worldwide, bringing good and bad examples from developed countries of Europe in this regard.

According to the government representatives present, the Justice Ministry has started work on a draft bill about discrimination, which will go through a process of discussions and consultations with international and local organizations.

Meanwhile, local human rights organizations plan to observe today’s rally, which should only last 20-30 minutes.

Representative of Identoba explained that they do not plan to bring balloons or colored things, but will hold a silent protest with banners and messages. There will be a small flash mob, when participants will dress in colored t-shirts to form the rainbow flag.

She said blocking the road is not on the agenda.

Thursday night, clerics and ordinary citizens gathered at the old parliament building in Tbilisi, and clerics led people in prayer. More than a hundred people gathered. The police was mobilized in the street.

“Religion and morality will save Georgia”, “Stop Promoting Homosexual Propaganda in Georgia,” their large posters read.

Patriarch Ilia II. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Patriarch’s Easter epistle has caused a debate about abortion in Georgia. Ilia II in his recent sermon called on the government to introduce a prohibition on abortion, but the government does not yet plan any changes in this field.

The Patriarch’s Easter epistle reads that Georgia’s demographic situation is concerning and he therefore calls on the government to prohibit abortion.

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili responded saying that Patriarch is correct to focus on the abortion problem, but only this cannot decide the demographic problem.

“Demographic problems need what I always claim – this is economy. Economy should develop, families should have more income and the government should take care of it,” the PM said.

Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani is against a ban on abortion.

“I fear that if abortion is banned, this process will move underground,” she said appearing on a talk show on Imedi TV.

She also thinks that introducing a ban on abortions cannot improve the demographic situation in the country.

“I fear in this case young girls, women, will still do it in basements or other anti-sanitary places with the help of people who don’t have appropriate qualification.”

The Minister of Justice, as well as Dimitry Khundadze, head of the parliamentary committee on health care and social issues, would only support a ban on selective abortion.

“Selective abortion is about 30 percent in total,” Dimitry Khundadze told journalists last week that abortion cannot be prohibited, as it may increase the mortality rate and the topic needs a more careful approach.

Koba Davitashvili, an MP from the ruling coalition, agrees with the Patriarch’s proposal. He believes an embryo is a living being and that the law should prescribe punishment for ending its life.

During a program called Radio Club on Pirveli Radio, the MP said that he is ready to prepare a draft bill to introduce a partial ban on abortions.

“I don’t’ think this is only an issue of demography, but also values,” he said, adding that only prohibition is not enough.

If the state prohibits abortion, then it should take care of the child and protect the woman.

“Abortion should only be allowed if the pregnancy is a result of rape or giving birth is a threat to the life of the mother,” he added.

Meanwhile, a council of mothers and children is being set up, which will also work on the abortion issue. Minister of Health Davit Sergenko said on Friday that the council will include a working group which will work on this issue.

He said that Health Ministry has an unequivocal position about this and the current situation cannot be maintained; changes are needed.

“But I also want to underline that the problem of abortion is not unique for Georgia, but it doesn’t give us an advantage. Different countries decide this issue in different ways, because local reality is of importance, as well as sociocultural and religious statuses,” the minister noted.

According to data from Georgia’s National Statistics Department, there were 30 600 registered abortions in 2011. The number of abortions had increased in recent years: In 2007 it was 20 600; 22 100 – in 2008, 24 300 – in 2009 and 25 600 in 2010.

Georgian law allows abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Opinions differ among people on this issue. An unscientific online survey on the popular web portal forum.ge shows that 44 percent of 579 people voting think that abortion should be prohibited, while 47 percent think it shouldn’t.

“I think it should be prohibited immediately,” one of the users writes. “The government should have a special state program for homeless children, and single mothers with more than three children should have a monthly allowance, while abortion should be persecuted by criminal law or be fined with a large amount of money.”

“No, it shouldn’t be prohibited,” another user writes. “What a great surprise has the patriarch done to people for Easter.”

Another user thinks that the Church has such a great influence on the parish that is able to reduce the number of abortions among Orthodox Christians.

According to the latest public opinion survey by the National Democratic Institute, 92 percent of Georgians say they trust Patriarch Ilia II.

Twenty people were detained during a May Day rally in Tbilisi Wednesday. Several people were slightly injured. (DFWatch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia Wednesday dispersed a peaceful protest organized by students and youth groups that wanted to mark the International Workers’ Day, May 1.

About twenty persons, including a journalist, were detained by police and later released. Some participants were beaten, including minors and girls. The Interior Ministry claims the police were trying to maintain public order and detained some of the participants for vandalism.

The well-known youth organization Laboratoria 1918 announced about one month ago that it was organizing a peaceful demonstration in Tbilisi May 1 to mark International Workers’ Day, and spread the word through distributing fliers and commercials and engaging in online activism.

The youth group was joined by Young Greens, Feminist Organization and a few mine workers and gathered on Wednesday at Tbilisi State University, then walked down toward Heroes’ Square.

There, the demonstrators blocked the road and continued their march to Aghmashenebeli Avenue, holding posters carrying messages like ‘Don’t negotiate with the bosses, abolish them’; ‘Work, consume, die,’ and ‘No to sexist labor code’.

The first police cars appeared on the bridge over the river Mtkvari, trying to force protesters to leave the car road and move them to the side, but were unsuccessful.

The police intervened to open the road for traffic. Some demonstrators were seen with nosebleed and other injuries. (DFWatch photo.)

The number of policemen on Aghmashenbeli Avenue grew, and there was a verbal confrontation between them and the protesters. Another attempt by the police to disperse the crowd was unsuccessful. Then the road was blocked. The number of participants was a few hundred, and the road did not stay blocked for long.

The protesters stopped at the head branch of TBC Bank, one of the largest banks in Georgia, and shouted slogans about protecting the rights of ordinary workers and guards. One of the participants spray painted anarchist symbols on the walls and windows of the bank. The police tried to stop them, without serious incidents.

Next stop was at Georgian Manganese, the company which owns the manganese mines in Chiatura, a town in western Georgia. Again some of the protesters wrote different messages on the walls of the building. Police and guards working in the building shouted, but the demonstrators left the building soon and walked to Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare.

Their plan was to pass through Rustaveli Avenue and stop outside the Ministry of Economy; but right in the beginning of Rustaveli there was a first physical confrontation with police. One of the female participants was hit allegedly by a policeman, which caused a first clash.

Tens of policemen crushed rally participants squashing them together, including children and journalists. Some were beaten and there were people who had visible injuries like a bleeding nose and light bruises.

Some of the students were forced into a police car. Then the next scuffle took place in front of the old post office near Rustaveli metro station. Several girls and boys were detained. Tens of police took them by their hands and feet and placed them in a car.

DF Watch witnessed how a few policemen ran over to one of the injured boys sitting on the stairs and took him into a police car. A few more clashes took place on Rustaveli, and it all ended outside the old parliament building.

Then the road was opened. The protesters headed to the Ministry of Economy to sum up the rally and agreed to meet later outside the police station in the Samgori district, where the detainees had been taken.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs explained at a briefing in the evening that during the demonstration students violated the public order, and that one private car and one police car were damaged.

“Police several times called for putting situation in order, but participants didn’t obey and police detained them according to administrative rules,” the ministry explained.

Protesters, many of whom were part of a group called Laboratoria 1918, shouted slogans like “Don’t negotiate with the bosses, abolish them”, “Work, consume, die”, and “No to sexist labor code”. (DFWatch photo.)

The detainees, who were released after signing a statement, will have to appear in Tbilisi City Court on Thursday.

Organizers of the demonstration claim most of the detainees were members of Laboratoria 1918.

The released students claim the police used force against them and that they weren’t violating any rules, because the number of protesters were too high and it wasn’t possible to walk on the sidewalks, and that’s why the roads were blocked.

Some claim that they were detained for having demanded the interior minister’s resignation.

Organizers of the rally later said in a short statement that the government and minister of interior should properly study the case and take measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.

During the rally, police attempted to interrupt journalists and photographers in their work. One of the journalist of a weekly magazine was detained.

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Dispersal of rally

rally before dispersal

Editor in Chief of Rezonansi Lasha Tughusi (left), Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. (DFWatch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The new government is not conducting illegal surveillance of citizens, but the fear people have of being tracked should be eliminated, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivansihvili said on Monday.

Georgia’s National Platform of the Eastern Partnership, which is an umbrella organization of local NGOs, on Monday organized a forum together with Open Society Georgia Foundation and the EU, with the title ‘Civil Society Against Illegal Surveillance’.

The forum was attended by the prime minister, speaker of parliament, minister of internal affairs, deputy justice minister, public defender and members of parliament, as well as representatives of media and civil society.

Lasha Tughushi, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Rezonansi, opened the forum by saying that the previous government used to illegally listen in to people’s phone conversations and use the information for political purposes.

“They had the opportunity to listen to tens of thousands of people,” he said, “they tracked not only the personal life of people, but also their political views, economic activism, etc.”

Tughushi thinks it is important now to destroy the archive of illegally gained material as soon as possible and to create guarantees that the government won’t use such measures in the future.

Prime Minister Ivanishivli said that the ideology of the previous government was to instill fear in people that they were listened to and watched all the time.

“But in fact, they didn’t even listen to 1 percent of the population. The only goal was to scare people,” he said, adding that the process has ended and the new government doesn’t do the same, but the fear remains in people and it is important to eliminate that fear.

“When we have domestic meeting inside our team, [Speaker of Parliament Davit] Usupashvili or [Minister of Interior Irakli] Gharibashvili take my phone in the other room. But I don’t have problems. I think I’m not saying anything wrong and I can repeat the same in the other day,” he said, underlining that the state cannot completely reject such methods, as in certain cases it is necessary for certain bodies to conduct surveillance, but this should be done following the law and after a decision by a court.

Usupashvili said parliament is ready to review proposed legislative drafts to improve the situation in this regard. He thinks it is possible to establish certain regulations to prohibit illegal surveillance.

Gharibashvili reminded listeners about the investigation which is in progress about this issue and said an archive of such type of information cannot be destroyed until the investigation is finished.

US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland said during the meeting that the US is ready to share its own experiences and support Georgia with methods of surveillance issues.

He said the most important thing is for parliament to have oversight over the special services, as well as legislative regulations and security measures.

Norland noted that Monday’s meeting was important for Georgia, but also post-soviet space, as there are many neighbor countries, where such discussions haven’t yet been held and here there is an opportunity to discuss such issues.

At the meeting, the parties agreed to hold another meeting in the future and to discuss more details. They also agreed that if a legislative draft is prepared, the new regulations shouldn’t restrict the media and freedom of expression.

Armenians in Georgia gathered outside the embassy of Turkey in Tbilisi. (DF Watch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Armenian community in Georgia on Wednesday held a rally outside the Turkish embassy in Tbilisi. Their demand was that Turkey must recognize the Armenian genocide in 1915 and commemorate the victims.

Representatives of Armenian organizations in Georgia recently appealed to local government to start considering recognizing the Armenian genocide. 21 states have currently recognized it, including Germany, France, Greece, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Russia and Poland.

April 24 is a public holiday in Armenia and the day is observed by Armenians in many countries. (DF Watch photo.)

Armenians in Georgia have raised the issue with the government in the past years, but without results.

Levan Berdzenishvili, a member of parliament from the Georgian Dream coalition, last week told journalists that Armenians shouldn’t have complaints to Georgia in this regards.

“We sheltered them and expressed our position, when all those events took place. It is not fair to demand more in political regards,” he said, adding that it is politically unimaginable to recognize the Armenian genocide. “Naturally, this will never take place in any case,” he said.

Participants at Wednesday’s rally performed the national anthem of Armenia. Organizers and others addressed the crowd in the Armenian language and shouted the Armenian word for ‘recognize’ at the Turkish embassy.

One of the rally participants, Marina Khachaturova, explained that Armenians mobilize on April 24 every year in many countries of the world.

“Turkey should recognize everything what happened then. We request the same from Georgia, which should also recognize it,” she said. “Everything is proven. There is an archive and much evidence.”

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President Mikheil Saakashvili branded his opponents as traitors who are in league with the enemy, Russia. (DF Watch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgians in the United States rallied in New York Friday, in protest against the foreign policy of the Ivanishvili government, which has ruled Georgia for six months.

The rally was the continuation of a mass gathering in the capital of their native country, Tbilisi, where President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier in the day mobilized his party, the United National Movement, ahead of a by-election, and as six months are left until the presidential election.

Georgians descended on New York, arriving from New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and gathered at Bowling Green Park in Manhattan in the evening.

In Georgia, people drove in to Tbilisi from the regions in the east and the west of the country to take part in a joint rally in front of the old parliament building. About ten thousand people showed up, but estimates vary greatly.

The crowd was tightly packed around that part of the stage where the speeches were held. A lot of people were standing on the left side of parliament, in front of Kashueti Church, and less people on the right, in front of Rustaveli.

Quite unexpected, during one of the speeches, people started shouting ‘Misha’, Saakashvili’s nickname, and then the president appeared on the right side of the parliament building, and walked directly into the crowd and followed a long route towards the stage.

Earlier in the morning, UNM spokespersons had indicated that he was not planning to come, and his appearance was therefore unexpected. He was the last one to address people.

Giorgi Vashadze, one of the party’s members of parliament, led the rally. Gigi Ugulava, Mayor of the City, Vano Merabishvili, Secretary General of the party, as well as other members of UNM addressed to the gathered. All read one major message that the UNM party and people gathered on the rally have one desire: Georgia to continue its way to the west and deepen perspectives of EU and NATO integration.

The UNM announced in February that it would hold a rally to fight for constitutional guarantees of Georgia’s unchanged western foreign policy course. On Friday, people came holding Georgian flags, but also NATO and EU and posters that carried anti-Russia messages.

“We came here to support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic course,” a student from the youth wing of the UNM told DF Watch. “We also came here to protest against the course which the new government has chosen. We don’t want Russia, which occupied the territories of our country.”

Among those who appealed to the rally participants was Papuna Davitaia, who is the UNM party’s majoritarian candidate for parliament from the Nadzaladevi District in Tbilisi in the by-election on April 27.

“Our opponents said that Georgians wouldn’t come here today. Now we see here tens of thousands of people,” he said. “During these years, we have managed to destroy the stereotype that we cannot build together and move the country forwards.”

The rally finished at about 6 pm, when the president finished his speech and jumped down from the stage to the crowd waiting to shake his hand or give letters.

The whole day, groups of patrol police was mobilized all over the Rustaveli Avenue. No incidents were reported. People went home shortly after the president left the street.

Interior Minister Irakli Gharibashvili Friday evening said on the TV channel Imedi that the rally was ‘just an ordinary rally of a defeated political force’.

“There was a huge expectation,” he said, “the only thing they did was that they brought about 0.1, 0.2 percent of the voters there. 5-6 thousand people came.”

The minister spoke about the role of the police, which provided security and order during rally.

“We have seen a new standard, how effective can a depoliticized police can be.”

Levan Berdzenishvili, a member of parliament from the Georgian Dream coalition, said ‘the dead organized a living wall on Rustaveli Avenue’.

“The noise of the politically dead was heard today in Tbilisi,” he told journalists. “I don’t believe in the revival of the UNM. I can’t see that. But I see there are problems in their party. They have an inner confrontation to find out who the party belongs to: is it Akhalaia or Merabishvili, or Saakashvili?”

Koba Davitashvili, also member of parliament from Georgian Dream, said that the number of rally participants was ‘not impressive’.

“I think the United National Movement is finished,” he said, adding that there was barely enough people for a funeral. Then Goga Khachidze, a parliamentarian from the UNM, wrote in response on Facebook that “if it was for a funeral, then it was the funeral of Georgian Dream.”

Luis Navarro, the National Democratic Institute’s Country Director for Georgia. (DFWatch photo.)

DFWatch: What was the methodology of your latest survey? Were there any changes compared to the previous surveys that you’ve done in the past year?

Luis Navarro: The methodology that we use is consistent. We use random route sampling; we use a Kish table and we don’t use substitutions, so all the elements of our polling have been consistent. This poll is slightly different in terms of those places that we chose to have representative samples from, so, east and west Georgia, rural, capital, urban and in this particular instance the capital is a distinct geographic center, so it’s not included either in the urban or in the east Georgia category.

DFW: In the new survey it is noticeable that people from Tbilisi give slightly different answers than people in some other regions.

LN: The single biggest differentiation that we see on issues is geographic. There are some differences among people within age groups, gender, but the most pronounced differences we usually see in geography.

DFW: What do you think is the reason? Can the reason be that people may have more access to the Internet in Tbilisi?

LN: Well actually, what’s funny is that when we do focus groups, the people who most often talk about Internet access are people in Batumi, and so people in Batumi actually seem to receive a disproportionate amount of information via the Internet than anywhere else in Georgia. So while there are large numbers of people who use the Internet in Tbilisi, it appears to be much more prevalent in Batumi.

DFW:Are there any changes in regards to issues which people say are most problematic to them, compared to the surveys done before the parliamentary election in October 2012?

LN: Among the interesting things is that more people identified themselves as unemployed in this survey than in surveys done previously, and I think this might be our high water mark in terms of people assessing themselves as being unemployed, so that’s one change. Secondly, people’s appetite for reform is not as far ahead as their expectations. In the past there seem to be great differences between people’s desire for reform and their expectations of the results. Now that gap is narrower, and for the first time we actually saw that in the area of constitutional reform people had greater expectations of achievements than appetite. So that is a notable difference that we for the first time have seen in our polling. Another interesting fact is that in our polling a statistically equal number of people said that they knew someone personally who have been dismissed from their jobs for political reasons. This was an issue before the elections, obviously, as it pertains to complaints against the former government, and here we are six months later and the number of people is statistically similar. This would suggest that this is a problem that the current government deals with, this as well, and in fact, we see the reports from ISFED, GYLA and Transparency International, concerns expressed about dismissals for political reasons. So this is a statistical validation of that.

DFW: What are the top priorities? Has the picture changed in terms of top problem issues?

LN: In terms of priorities, Georgians’ priorities are essentially the same. They are interested in employment, territorial integrity, and affordable health care. On the local level, you’ve seen a diminishing in the top two issues – cost of communal services and Tbilisi’s specific issue of the linkage of trash and electricity bills. So those issues are still on the top of the list, but they are lower in terms of importance. In terms of national issues jobs, territorial integrity and affordable healthcare – that’s largely unchanged since what we saw around the elections, but despite this and despite the fact that people don’t seem to have registered any particular personal benefit or economic benefit since the election, people are still very optimistic about the direction that the country is going in. People are optimistic about its democratic development and people have faith in the current government’s ability to make changes for them. So that is not to say that there are no problems, but right now people I think are hopeful that the government will succeed.

DFW: What are the issues which people approve or disapprove of about the new government and the new reforms?

LN: Two issues: while the majority of Georgians, or I should say, more Georgians, feel like they are hearing about the issues of importance, the areas that we noted a large number of people who say they are not hearing about a particular issue, are in the areas of jobs and poverty. So people are still anxious to hear a lot about economic interests. Also we noted that almost half of the population was in favor of releasing prisoners. On the one hand, they were in favor of the release, and on the other hand, the single largest group of people to assess the impact of this said that it would be negative. Now some people would argue that if you take the number of people who think that it is positive or no effect, then it’s greater, and therefore this is not a big concern. My response to that is that yes, there is one way of interpreting the data, but it is also equally valid to say that among those people who had an opinion, the largest share were among those people who had a negative opinion. Unlike the people who had a positive assessment, which was sort of spread among three areas of consideration: about restoration of justice, about the presumption of innocence of people who have been released; the people who had a negative assessment were almost universal in their reasoning and that was a concern of increasing crime. So again regardless of how you want to look at this issue, regardless of how any politician wants to talk about this issue, it is accurate to say that among people who expressed their opinion, the largest share was among those who said that it was negative, and within that group the overwhelming resolution was that they are concerned about the increase in crime. I would point out, though, that when you look at it compared to the fact that people were in general supportive of the action and credited parliament’s amnesty legislation as being a vehicle by which this had occurred, that there is at least some reason to believe that as the prime minister said earlier that yes, crime may increase, but people should be patient and I think that the poll indicates that yes, people are concerned about the crime, but in general they are both supportive of the decision and patient about what the possible impact may be.

DFW: The amnesty issue was among the issues about which people were most aware of and in the new survey we see that people are more aware of current events taking place in the country. What may be the reason, in your opinion? Is there more access to media in the regions?

LN: There is no significant change in terms of number of people who watch TV, which is the dominant media since before the election. In our opinion, Georgians were pretty well informed before the election; they continued to be relatively well-informed after the election. I think that the amnesty issue and the contributing factor to the amnesty issue and why so many people were aware of it was because of the importance that the prison scandal played in the outcome of the election and the fact that this was seen as a vehicle by which to rectify some of the fallout from that scandal. I think it is contributing to why people are so focused on following it.

DFW: You plan to publish the next political survey on Monday. In the past there were many questions to which people preferred to answer ‘don’t know’ or didn’t answer. Has it changed? Are people freer to talk about political views?

LN: I disagree with the implication behind the question. I do not think that there is any evidence in our polling either before the election or since the election to demonstrate that the people were afraid. That is not to say that there were no people who experienced pressure, but even post-election we can see that there are people who feel now that they experience the pressure. So I think what is more accurate is that people in the lead up to what was clearly a very contentious, very polarized election, were sort of guarding their prerogative, which is why the largest number of people said that they were either undecided, refused to answer or were supportive of no party. Considering the fact that our last poll before the election was taken almost two months before the election, month and a half before the prisons scandal and so what we have said then, if you refer back to our press release at the time, was that the election would be decided by those people, and as we saw from our cross-tabs, when we compared ‘don’t know’ and ‘refused to answer’ and ‘undecided’ with other questions of the poll, those people fell right in the middle of attitudes about democratic development, direction of the country was going in, whether or not the government made changes that mattered to them. So among the people who were undecided, refused to answer and no-party, they were less optimistic than UNM, more optimistic than Georgian Dream, and so they were the ones who decided the outcome of the election. Now, we’re not running up against an election at the moment. There is a presidential election in six months, but I would say that there is not nearly as much activity around the presidential election as we saw around the parliamentary election. So people are not in the position, where they feel they have to make a choice, at this juncture. I think that it is likely that we are going to see lower numbers in that regards, but we’ll see when we present those numbers on Monday.

DFW: How many surveys do you plan to conduct before the upcoming presidential election?

LN: We will do at least two more surveys between now and the election, and then we expect to do one after the election. That is typical.

DFW: Is the period of NDI mission to Georgia defined? May the NDI finish the mission?

LN: NDI has been in Georgia since 1994 and we receive funding both from the USAID and the SIDA and the decision about us staying or going will be dependent upon where our revenue continues to come from, and as far as we know, we will continue to be funded here, one way or the other.

The student protest continued Friday. (DF Watch photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The students at the Agriculture University continued their protest Friday, and handed Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili documents which were meant to show that the institution now complies with the law’s requirements.

After studying the documents Margvelashvili said he is assured that the guidelines of the Agriculture University now comes in line with the law.

“I congratulate all,” he said. “The documents which arrived at the ministry today confirm that the guidelines are now improved and in accordance with law.”

He said that the process will continue from Monday and everything will be done in accordance with Georgian law.

The rector on Friday appealed to the Education Ministry to restore the university’s accreditation, which was suspended last week.

Margvelashvili said the Agriculture University’s guidelines are improved, as it shows documentation which were brought to the ministry and which has been on a list of remarks which formed part of the basis for the Authorization Commission suspending the accreditation.

Mariam Pataraia, student at the Agriculture University. (DF Watch Photo.)

The students are being joined by colleagues from the Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, Technical University, International Black Sea University, and representatives of NGOs and others who support them, and held another rally on Friday outside the Education Ministry.

Rector Lasha Gotsiridze appeared at the ministry during the rally in order to bring documents into the ministry that will help restore his university’s accreditation. He said one of the reasons for why it was suspended was a lack of communication.

Gotsiridze said he expects a decision about restoring the accreditation by March 18.

Mariam Pataraia, a third academic year student of business administration, told DF Watch that she had been studying at the Agriculture University before it was upgraded and she says there were terrible conditions and low level of teaching.

“There were professors who taught us, but they weren’t professionals,” she said. “I can assure you that in first grade, and especially at the faculty of business administration, I didn’t receive the education that I was expecting and that I should have received. But all this changed from the second grade.”

She said the main goal of the student’s protest is to maintain the situation that came after the rehabilitation, the quality of education and the conditions at this facility.

Many of the students, the academic personnel as well as government opponents, accuse the government of having a political motivation, because the modernization was financed by Kakha Bendukidze, a former economy minister under President Saakashvili. Bendukidze now owns the rights for the university. He claims that the only problem which this university might have is himself and that the government suspended the accreditation in order to punish him.

The students plan to continue their protests from Monday, if their demands aren’t met.

Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili met the students Tuesday. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–For the last two days, students at an agricultural college have been at the center of a dispute between the governing Georgian Dream coalition and supporters of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The dispute began with the cancellation of the accreditation of the Agriculture University of Georgia, which recently has been transformed into one of the prestigious universities in Georgia.

Students at the university and the government’s opponents say the decision by Education Ministry had a political motivation, as Kakha Bendukidze, the former economy minister in Saakashvili’s government, has invested in rehabilitating the university.

In earlier years, it was thought that if high school graduates started studying at the Agriculture University, many would say that they weren’t clever enough to study at Tbilisi State University or other high education facilities and students of Agriculture University often became the butt of jokes.

But the university was fully transformed into well-equipped facility with good conditions to study and as part of the reconstruction, some new features and faculties was added.

A few days ago, it became known that the National Center for Developing Education Quality canceled authorization of the university and grounds for this became letter of some initiative group of December 18, 2012, which indicated to violations of accreditation standards.

In January, the monitoring service checked the university. The main problems outlined in the decision of the monitoring commission were the issue of selecting academic personal and their appointment, also the lack of compulsory literature and violations of the regulation of suspension or changing status of students.

The ministry’s decision was met by protests by student, who threaten to continue if the institution’s accreditation is not restored.

Kakha Bendukidze. (Interpressnews.)

Students also say that the decision was politically motivated, as Bendukidze was one of the most powerful ministers in Saakashvili’s government, and conducted significant economic and legislative reforms. A few years ago he left politics, but remains an open supporter of Saakashvili and his National Movement party.

President Saakashvili on Tuesday responded to the scandal around the university by saying that ‘the government attempts to close up the most modern and progressive university.’

“It is obvious that this decision is unjustified and unfair for everyone for those who still have a tiny piece of objectivity,” he said, calling on the government to reconsider its ‘politically motivated decision’, which may lead to ‘catastrophic results’.

Richard Norland, Ambassador of the US to Georgia, the same day told journalists that this issue needs to be studied and academic and political issues should be separated.

Meanwhile, the ombudsman’s office started to study the issue and promised to publish the official position of public defender’s office regarding Agriculture University.

Lawyers for the university on Tuesday said at a press conference that the decision of suspending the authorization will be appealed in court. They claim the decision was ‘significantly illegal and unjustified.’

Iago Khvichia, one of the lawyers, claim that the center of the authorization could have used two weeks on making the decision to avoid errors, but didn’t use this regulation and made an immediate decision.

The lawyers claim that the conclusion, by which the decision was made, indicates to technical details, but not significant violations.

“For example, they give remarks about the age of the lecturer – why the lecturer is born in 1990. There are certain positions which foresee age limit, but there is no age limit for lecturers,” said Lili Begiashvili, another lawyer representing the university.

The lawyers also claim that the accusation about the lack of literature is ridiculous as in the university’s archive there are millions of books which are accessible for every student.

Minister of Education Giorgi Margvelashvili said that if the university improves the violations pointed out, the accreditation will immediately be restored.

He said that the decision was not politically motivated and called on everyone not to mix it and turn this issue into a political one.

“The council, law and commission, which has made this decision, was not set up in a period while I was minister, but they were set up during the previous government,” he said, adding that canceling the accreditation doesn’t mean that it us permanently gone. It may be restored later, he said.

The minister met with the students at the Agriculture University on Tuesday, but the meeting didn’t last more than half an hour, and the students claim they didn’t receive specific answers.

“This university has only a big, bald and fat error and this is me,” businessman Kakha Bendukidze said at a briefing on Tuesday. “This university doesn’t have any other errors – the only error is me.”

Bendukidze thinks that canceling the authorization of the university is a result of a fight against him and this way the ministry ‘decided to victimize 2 000 students’.

“No-one thought about the 2 000 students while thinking of punishing me.”

Bendukidze said that the Free University, which was founded by him and is also thought to be one of the most prestigious universities, will try to receive accreditation on the same specializations so that students of the Agriculture University could switch to the Free University to continue studying, but he also called on students to continue fighting and not to give up.

Kakha Kurashvili, who chairs council of authorization on Tuesday said that the decision to cancel the authorization will be enforced after the spring semester is over.

“This gives an opportunity for students to continue studying under normal conditions and it also gives the opportunity to the Agriculture University to improve errors and restore authorization,” he said, adding that the university may choose another way – through the courts.

Bendukidze responded that it is a lie that the decision will be enforced by the end of semester.

“Such statements are made to calm students down,” he said. “When the authorization is suspended, studying process should be stopped, but they’ve already got themselves into a deadlock.”

“Everything is simple here. They should react to the remarks of the commission and their license will get restored,” Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said on Tuesday.

Students at the Agriculture University have received support from students of other universities, as well as several non-governmental organizations.