GEORGIA The hunt for “foreign witches” in Tbilisi

By enacting the much-discussed law “on the transparency of foreign influences,” the ruling party, Georgian Dream, promises to “uncover all foreign agents, traitors and spies,” starting with the “young people enlisted” to organize the uprising. The walls of the houses of the deputies who voted in favor of the measure are painted with the words “slaves.” But opposition forces also report threats and intimidation.

Tbilisi () – The speaker of the Tbilisi Parliament, Šalva Papuašvili, has signed the disputed law “on the transparency of foreign influences”, expressing his gratitude “to the Georgian people, who have once again demonstrated their wisdom by not sinking into lies and hatred, showing everyone, at home and in the world, that there is only one side, that of Georgia, and that there is only one option, that of defending Georgia.

The law has already been published in the Official Gazette, so it can begin to be applied at least partially, while it will come into full force within 60 days. For this reason, the ruling Georgian Dream party has announced the start of the “witch hunt”, promising to “hunt down all foreign agents, traitors and spies”. Firstly, they will look for those responsible for the campaign against the law itself, the “young people enlisted” to stage the insurrection of the new generation, and the “National Collective Movement”, the forces that gather around the main party of the opposition, which the majority deputies call the “National Espionage Center.”

For this reason, the deputy of the flanking party «Popular Force», Guram Mačarašvili, has proposed to investigate all opponents of the law accused of espionage, who are currently defacing the walls of the houses of the 84 deputies of the Georgian Dream with the inscription « “A slave lives here, a traitor for 30 denarii.” The infamous title of “slave” is repeated not only in Tbilisi, but even at the Paris airport, as happened to MP Eliso Bolkvadze, while MP Nino Tsilosani complains of having been subjected to insults and telephone threats along with members of his family, including his minor children.

Papuašvili himself insists that “those critical of the law and the established power have become radicals and extremists,” which makes repressive action by justice and law enforcement forces indispensable. He quotes a journalist who supposedly wrote that “the deputies who approved the Russian law deserve 84 shots in the back of the head.” He then accuses the entire European Union of paying this journalist and others like him, so they “evidently want to provide ammunition for the civil war.” According to the majority, those who do not accept the law “have lost their Georgian identity and have entered the service of foreign countries, but they will receive an appropriate response.”

As several representatives of the Government and the party in power have repeated, the fight against the “terrorists” will be carried out to the end, “we will clarify who their financiers are.” As soon as possible, support from abroad to NGOs that “deal with terrorizing young children” will be prohibited, adds Papuašvili, speaking of children’s aid associations, clarifying that “these groups have nothing to do with with the Europe that we want as a Georgian society. In fact, threats to families and children are also multiplying against opposition deputies, as witnessed by Tina Bokučava from the National Movement, Anna Bučukuri from the “For Georgia” party, and independent MP Teona Akubardija.

Bokučava relates that “those who call us on the phone know all the numbers of the relatives, so they do so with precise instructions from above, and we want to address the company operators and the inspector for the protection of personal data, up to the trial in court… in Georgia no one is afraid of them, despite all their threats and repression. According to Akubardija, “it is clear that the regime in power wants to repeat the events of a century ago, when in 1921 the Bolsheviks shot masses of Georgian activists and branded them as spies and foreign agents.” Another opposition deputy, Paata Mangadžgaladze, ironically commented on Mačarašvili’s proposal to arrest “spies”, comparing it to the latest corrections to the law on foreign agents passed in Russia, which prevents running for elections: “Dear stick [padrino] Guram, it would be better for you to put us all in a boat and push us into the water, to drown us whenever you want. Youth protest movements, such as the Dafioni student movement, decided to change the slogan of the demonstrations: no longer “No to the Russian law”, but “No to the Georgian dream”.