Comment by Toivo Klaar
In response to the situation surrounding the “foreign agents” bill in Georgia, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar comments on social media:
“Today should be cause for celebration. Yet my heart aches. Our relationship is supposed to be based on shared values and on support for a strong civil society where lists of “enemies of the people” and anonymous phone calls have no place. Quo vadis, Georgia?”
Hunt for critics
During the night of May 8th in Tbilisi, several opponents of the “foreign agents” law were attacked and beaten by unknown groups.
One of them is Dimitri Chikovani, a member of the secretariat of the most prominent opposition party, the “National Movement.” Chikovani was attacked in the entrance of his apartment building in central Tbilisi.
Another victim of the attack was Gia Japaridze, an international relations specialist and an active opponent of the “foreign agents” bill, as well as the brother of the leader of another opposition party, “Girchi – More Freedom.”
Yet another victim is Lasha Gviniashvili, whose friend managed to capture a fragment of the attack on camera.
These are not the first instances of attacks on political figures and critically-minded citizens in Georgia in recent days.
On May 7th, an unknown assailant attacked the Executive Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Giorgi Kldiashvili, and a film crew from the television channel “Formula TV.” The attack occurred during the day in central Tbilisi, in front of the Swedish Embassy.
On May 5th, a well-known teacher and recipient of the national award, Lado Abkhazava, was attacked in the entrance of his home.
In addition to physical violence, there have also been instances of psychological pressure and threats against opponents of the “foreign agents” bill over the past two days. They receive threatening phone calls, are insulted, and harassed.
Comment by Toivo Klaar
The post “Quo vadis, Georgia?” – EU Special representative for the South Caucasus first appeared on The South Caucasus News.