A day before the general election, ten opposition parties signed an agreement not to form a coalition government with the Georgian Dream, a political party presided by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili which rules the country since 2012. The parties state that current government of Georgian Dream “Significantly weakened Georgia’s democratic institutions, with a one-man and uncontrolled … Read more
Three days ahead of Georgia’s general election, the government is trading barbs with the opposition with each side accusing each other of extreme measures, ranging from election rigging to staging a violent overthrow of the government. Minister of Defense Irakli Garibashvili, who has previously served as prime minister, went as far as saying that the … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–An ongoing police hunt in Georgia as so far failed to turn up a former soldier suspected of taking dozens of people hostage in a bank in Zugdidi, a town in west Georgia, and escaping with USD 500,000 of ransom money. Into the evening Monday, the police searched several houses belonging to the suspect’s … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–At least 18 natives of Georgia’s Javakheti region have died in the ongoing Karabakh war, an Akhalkalaki-based news website reports. The list published on Jnews.ge includes both volunteers and military personnel. Many natives of Javakheti live in Armenia and hold Armenian citizenship. It’s not clear so far whether the list includes names of volunteers … Read more
Opposition infighting intensifies to new extremes three weeks ahead of general elections as former ally of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili accuses him of violating opposition unity. Gigi Ugulava, the former mayor of Tbilisi and leader of the European Georgia party, says “Saakashvili stabbed opposition unity in the back.” In a video address posted on Facebook, Gigi … Read more
Amid full-scale war in Nagorny Karabakh, Armenia refuses to take part in Russian-led military exercises “Indestructible Brotherhood-2020″, which will be held in Belarus in mid-October, the Armenian Defense Ministry stated Monday. The exercises are dedicated to carrying out peacekeeping missions. It is scheduled on October 12 to 16 at the Losvido training ground in Belarus. … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia categorically denies rumors spread on various social networks that weapons are being brought to Azerbaijan through its territory and calls on the Armenian side not to rely on such misinformation and fake news. “We observe that various types of misinformation and fakes are spread in the social space, as if weapons are being … Read more
Ethnic Armenians of Georgia’s Javakheti regions blocked for several hours Tuesday a road that connects Georgia with Turkey and didn’t let trucks with Turkish numberplates in at the village of Kartsakhi, Akhalkalali Municipality. About a thousand people, mostly men, participated in the rally, local news agency Jnews reports. They suspect Turkey transfers weaponry to Azerbaijan … Read more
Ongoing armed conflict between Azerbaijan and breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh has had strong repercussion in Georgia with its ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijan minorities. Both groups hold mass rallies in support of their ethnically kin states. People in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda, two municipalities in southern part of the country with formidable ethnic Armenian population, started Monday to mobilize … Read more
Georgia’s largest opposition force forms an electoral block with four small political parties to propose candidacy of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili for PM office. State for the People, Republican Party, Chven Tviton, and Progress and Freedom joined ranks with UNM to defeat “oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili” and signed a formal agreement on Tuesday. State of the People … Read more