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☆ Gallery fire destroys more than 4,000 artworks in Georgia’s separatist region Abkhazia
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A fire broke out at the National Art Gallery of Abkhazia — a pro-Russian separatist republic that is officially part of Georgia — in the early hours of Sunday morning, destroying at least 4,000 works of art, local state media has reported. “Everything burned down,” Acting Minister of Culture Dinara Smyr said, according to the region’s Apsnypress news agency. A view of burnt room of the National Art Gallery in Sukhumi, Abkhazia. Stringer/APThe National Art Gallery is in Sukhumi, the separatist republic’s capital city. The National Art Gallery’s Central Exhibition Hall caught fire overnight, and emergency services were called to the scene early Sunday morning, according to state media.

Persons: Georgia —, Dinara Smyr, ” Apsnypress, Alexander Chachba, ”, Stringer, Apsnypress, Robert Dzhpua, Salome Zourabichvili, “ Organizations: CNN, National Art, Abkhazia —, ”, Abkhazian, United Nations, Abkhazia’s, Statistics, Exhibition Hall, National, General’s Locations: Abkhazia, Russian, Georgia, Sukhumi, Russia

☆ A cruise ship carrying Russian passengers was greeted with jeers and heckles in Georgia and was forced to leave the port early
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Locals jeered at Russian passengers on a cruise ship in Batumi, Georgia on two separate occasions. A cruise ship with Russian passengers docked in Batumi, Georgia, was met with jeers from the locals protesting over the Ukraine war and over disputed territories currently occupied by Russia. Videos shared by Twitter users on Monday captured chaotic scenes of protestors in Georgia heckling the cruise ship after it arrived for the second time in five days. It will only stop when the Russian cruise ship leaves, hopefully earlier than scheduled." Local media outlet Formula News tweeted a video of protestors on Monday: "Protesters condemn the arrival of Russian cruise ship carrying pop stars and journalists supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Georgian port city of Batumi."

Persons: jeers, Helen Khoshtaria, Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Morning, Radio Free, RFE, Twitter, Miray Cruises, RBC, Russia axing, UN, International Republican Institute Locations: Batumi , Georgia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgian, Batumi, Russian, Europe, Republic of Georgia, Soviet Union, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

☆ Tbilisi Pride festival canceled after violent anti-LGBTQ protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A Pride festival was canceled in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Saturday by organizers who say authorities failed to prevent violent disruptions from Russian-affiliated far-right groups. Festival organizers Tbilisi Pride said in a tweet that they were “compelled” to cancel the festival and “evacuate” the festival territory. “The Ministry of Interior of Georgia once again neglected to protect us from violent far-right groups and allowed the mobs to prevent us from exercising our freedom of expression and assembly even in private settings,” Tbilisi Pride said. Videos posted by Georgian activist channels showed clashes between police officers and anti-LGBTQ protesters in the festival area in Lisi Wonderland. Tbilisi Pride has accused the Georgian government of orchestrating and coordinating with Russian-affiliated, far-right group Alt Info, who they claim disrupted the event.

Persons: Lisi Wonderland, ”, “, Wonderland, Alexander Darakhvelidze, ” Darakhvelidze, Nobody, Irakli Gedenidze, Shalva Papuashvili, Papuashvili, Salome Zourabichvili, ” Zourabichvili, Mark Clayton, Clayton, Peter Fischer Organizations: CNN, First Channel, Tbilisi Pride, Interior, ”, ” Tbilisi Pride, Pride, Russian, Reuters, Georgian Interior Ministry, Georgian, Channel, UN Locations: Georgian, Tbilisi, Georgia, ” Tbilisi

☆ Anti-LGBT protesters break up Pride festival in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Anti-LGBTQ protesters scuffle with police as they try to break into the site of Tbilisi Pride Fest, in Tbilisi, Georgia July 8, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYJuly 8 (Reuters) - Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Gay Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday, scuffling with police and destroying props including rainbow flags and placards, though there were no reports of injuries. "The protesters managed to find... ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organisers," Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters. Georgia aspires to join the European Union but its ruling Georgian Dream Party has faced increased criticism from rights groups and the EU over its perceived drift towards authoritarianism. Georgia has passed laws against discrimination and hate crimes, but LGBT+ rights groups say there is a lack of adequate protection by law enforcement officials and homophobia remains widespread in the socially conservative South Caucasus nation.

Persons: Alexander Darakhvelidze, Nobody, Mariam Kvaratskhelia, Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, Alexander Lashkarava, Gareth Jones, Ros Russell Organizations: Tbilisi Pride Fest, REUTERS, Gay, Pride, Tbilisi Pride, Reuters, LGBT, European Union, Georgian, Party, EU, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi, Tbilisi , Georgia, Georgian, Georgia, . Georgia, South Caucasus

☆ Georgia's flagship airline bans president over Russia flights criticism - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TBILISI, May 21 (Reuters) - The founder of Georgia's national airline Georgian Airways has banned the country's president from using its services after she said she would boycott the airline over its resumption of flights to Russia, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Sunday. Russia announced this month it was lifting a four-year old ban on direct flights with Georgia and removing a decades-old visa requirement for Georgians travelling to Russia. President Salome Zourabichvili urged Georgian authorities to thwart the Russian initiative, an appeal they ignored. Many Georgians oppose any rapprochement with Moscow whose troops garrison two breakaway regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - that make up around one fifth of the country's territory. President Zourabichvili, whose position is largely ceremonial and whose relations with the government are strained, has warned that deepening ties with Russia could jeopardise the country's chances of the EU one day.

CNN —Police in Georgia have removed protesters from outside a hotel where relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are allegedly staying, according to the public broadcaster First Channel. According to First Channel, the opposition United National Movement party held a protest outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel in northeastern Georgia on Saturday to express their anger following Georgian media reports that Lavrov’s relatives were staying in the hotel. Reporters on the ground said the situation outside the hotel had grown “tense” on Saturday after protesters pelted eggs at a minibus that left the hotel carrying Russian tourists. ‘Tense’ protest scenesVideos posted on social media showed violent scenes of police officers roughly grabbing protesters gathered outside the hotel. The protests came after Georgian media reported that Lavrov’s relatives had traveled to Georgia for the wedding of the brother of Lavrov’s son-in-law, Alexandre Vinokourov.

☆ Georgian ruling party withdraws 'foreign agents' bill after two nights of protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Georgian ruling party pulls foreign agent billMove follows two nights of protests in GeorgiaEU praises withdrawal of foreign agent billProtests to continue, says Droa partyTBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against what opponents said was a Russian-inspired authoritarian shift that imperilled hopes of the country joining the European Union. The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". The bill would have required Georgian organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Georgian Dream had previously said the law was necessary to unmask critics of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most powerful institutions. The European Union's delegation to Georgia praised the decision to withdraw the bill, writing on Twitter: "We welcome announcement by the ruling party to withdraw draft legislation on 'foreign influence'.

☆ Factbox: Why is Georgia in turmoil over a "foreign agents" law?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

TBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Ruling lawmakers in the South Caucasus country of Georgia on Thursday scrapped plans to introduce what critics called a Russian-inspired "foreign agents" law after two days of intense street protests in the capital Tbilisi. Here is a guide to what's going on:WHAT IS THE PROPOSED 'FOREIGN AGENTS' LAW? - Swathes of Georgian civil society, including election monitors, corruption watchdogs and independent media outlets would have been covered by the law. - Rights groups say the "foreign agent" tag is a designed to make it easier for the government to discredit its opponents. - It says it is modelled on the U.S. 1938 "Foreign Agents Registration Act", which primarily covers lobbyists and organisations directly working for or under the control of foreign governments.

☆ Georgian protesters rally in Tbilisi after violent clashes with police
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ruling Georgian Dream party say it is modelled on U.S. legislation dating from the 1930s. In violent clashes on Tuesday evening, protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. Critics say Georgian Dream is too close to Russia and has taken the country in a more repressive direction in recent years. Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze defended the bill again on Wednesday, saying it would help root out those working against the interests of the country and the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church. He criticised Georgia's "radical opposition" for stirring up protesters to commit "unprecedented violence" during Tuesday's rallies, according to Georgian news agencies.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas on protesters after parliament backs 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] A protester sits on his haunches in front of police officers, who block the way during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli GedenidzeTBILISI, March 7 (Reuters) - Georgian police used tear gas to disperse protesters on Tuesday in central Tbilisi after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on "foreign agents" which critics say represents an authoritarian shift in the South Caucasus country. The law, backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, would require any organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as "foreign agents", or face substantial fines. Georgian television showed protesters angrily remonstrating with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas. "The future of our country doesn't belong to, and will not belong to, foreign agents and servants of foreign countries," he said.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas to halt protest against 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TBILISI, March 8 (Reuters) - Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on "foreign agents". The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers designed to keep the public away from the building. Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili reaffirmed his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards". [1/10] Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. Late on Tuesday night protesters angrily remonstrated with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas and watercannon.

☆ Brawl erupts in Georgia parliament over 'Russian-inspired' foreign agent law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People take part in a protest against the controversial "foreign agents" bill outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia March 6, 2023. Critics have compared it to a 2012 Russian law, which has been steadily expanded since then and used to crack down on Russian civil society and independent media. "The Russian legislation that now is proposed in parliament is against Georgia's national interests, against our European aspirations," said Irakli Pavlenishvili, a civil rights activist and opposition politician. However, Givi Mikanadze, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, told national television: "Georgian society absolutely deserves to know which organisations are being financed, from which sources. Last month, more than 60 civil society organisations and media outlets said they would not comply with the new "foreign agent" legislation if it becomes law.

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