Political scientist Paata Sheshelidze questions the government’s plan to partner with major Gulf developers on vast new real estate complexes in Tbilisi and on the Black Sea, saying the public still does not know what, exactly, the country is agreeing to. Sheshelidze, president of the New Economic School and a former politician, told Interpressnews that … Read more
Georgia’s ruling party has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, asking it to outlaw three of the country’s main opposition parties. If the court agrees, it could leave hundreds of thousands of Georgians without a political alternative, and end what’s left of pluralism in the country’s politics, according to Sandro Baramidze, a representative of … Read more
The country’s opposition parties are repeating strategic mistakes that have allowed the ruling Georgian Dream party to entrench its rule, according to Nino Lomjaria, executive director of the non-governmental group Georgia’s European Orbit and former public defender (ombudswoman). Outlining her criticism in a social media post on Saturday, Lomjaria said opposition groups have failed to … Read more
Georgia’s “crackdown” isn’t what the headlines suggest. International coverage of Georgia’s recent detentions reads like a Cold War thriller. Words such as “purge,” “totalitarianism,” and “crackdown” are passed around as generously as khinkali at a supra. Once again, foreign audiences are dazzled by the imagery but left in the dark about what’s actually happening, and … Read more
Europe is pouring billions into the Middle Corridor, the transcontinental trade route linking China and Europe via Central Asia and the South Caucasus, but Georgia may be letting the opportunity slip through its fingers, warns Paata Tsagareishvili, head of the Middle Corridor Research Center in Tbilisi. In an interview with Interpressnews, Tsagareishvili said the European … Read more
They come to Tbilisi, are taken on a tour, and “taken for a ride” by a conspicuous crowd of people who happen to be out of government at the moment. The latest was Finland’s Elena Valtonen, who did the rounds: dropped by the opposition demonstrators at parliament to show support, met with the usual NGO … Read more
Donor-funded media platforms in Georgia are billed as “independent.” That might play well in Brussels and Washington. But seeing this from the inside here in Tbilisi, the picture looks very different. Outlets such as JAM News and OC Media operate almost entirely on grants from foreign governments and foundations. For long, sounding the alarm about … Read more
As Georgia heads into local elections on October 4, what should have been a routine exercise in self-government has instead become wrapped in national-level polarization, radical rhetoric, and competing visions of the country’s future, according to Ramaz Sakvarelidze, in a recent interview with Interpressnews. “Today there is more polarization and more inadequacy than is typical … Read more
The international media’s portrayal of Georgia’s opposition is starting to look more like myth-making than reporting. Mundane acts of defiance are routinely spun as proof of government repression. Take the case of journalist and media founder Mzia Amaghlobeli, now feted as a symbol of free speech. She has been nominated for the EU’s prestigious Sakharov … Read more
With local elections approaching in Georgia, veteran politician and political scientist Vazha Beridze says the country is heading into a vote unlike any since independence. In an interview with Interpressnews, the former speaker of parliament and ex-mayor of Borjomi argues that both government and opposition share blame for a deeply polarized climate, while insisting the … Read more