Author: Goga Akhalkatsi

As the saying goes, only fools repeat the same things over and over but expect different results. Unfortunately, not just ordinary people but also big states frequently get entrapped in this snobbism. Overestimating itself, like people, the countries think that they can succeed in a project which other much stronger and wealthier countries failed. Currently, the best example of such a snobbish country is Iran. As is known, Russia has been supporting and even feeding Armenia over for 30 years, since the inception of its independence. Russia attached great importance to Armenia to such an extent that it constructed all…

Georgia’s State Security Service said Monday that mass riots are being prepared in the country aimed at overthrowing the government. In a statement on its website, the security service said the rebellion may start in October-December, using the pretext of the European Commission granting Georgia EU candidacy status. “According to information received as a result of an investigation, a certain group of persons operating on the territory of Georgia and abroad this October-December plans to organize destabilization and mass riots in Georgia, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the government by force,” it said. The service identified former Interior Minister…

Frankfurt (11/09 – 20) Two international human rights organizations have called on the Tajikistan government to immediately release jailed lawyer and human rights activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov, as well as other activists and journalists. The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the international non-profit organization CIVICUS, which bills itself as “a global alliance aimed at strengthening the action of citizens and civil society around the world,” in their message published specially on the eve of Independence Day, September 8, focus on the fact that Tajik human rights activist and civil society activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov was falsely sentenced to a long…

A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a teenager to two-and-a-half years in prison for insulting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The 19-year-old, a resident of the Kattakurgan district in the Samarkand region, was found by the court to have written comments on Instagram that could be deemed defamatory of the president. The verdict was passed in October but only made public by the Supreme Court late last week. According to the case materials, the man, who has been identified only by his initials, I.D., left the incriminating comment, the specific content of which has not been disclosed, under a video entitled “Presidential…

Following the successful conclusion of the first tender of the EU renewable energy financing mechanism on 27 September 2023, 8 solar PV projects with a total capacity of 282.77 MW have been awarded funding. All applications which passed the eligibility check, and which met the minimum quality requirements, were ranked based on the price of their bid to the tender, starting from the lowest price, until the total budget of the tender (€40 million) was absorbed. The selected projects are now invited by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to prepare a grant agreement and will have to commence their solar…

Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, will be in Tbilisi, Georgia, to participate in the first EU-Georgia High-Level Energy Dialogue. This dialogue comes after months of intense common work in the field of energy. The discussions will focus on alignment with key EU energy legislation, development of energy infrastructure and connectivity, and promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy.It comes in the context of the Commission recommending last week to grant Georgia the status of EU candidate country. Commissioner Simson will co-chair the High-Level Dialogue with the Vice-Prime Minister for Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili. The Dialogue will be an opportunity to…

London, Dublin (1/11 – 66) Hamas is sheltered in a sea of civilians. Ostensibly a Palestinian political and military organization established in 1987, Hamas “governs” on the basis of having won a majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections – defeating Fatah, another Islamist terror combine – before forming a government in the Gaza Strip, described as “…the world’s largest open-air prison” for its Palestinian inhabitants. So why don’t the Palestinians, having been robbed of their ancient lands, simply up and move somewhere else? It is telling that none of the Islamic nations surrounding Israel care to admit any more…

The Georgian Government has been working with the country’s international partners and financial institutions to transform Georgia into the regional transport, logistics and digital hub, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told the Global Gateway Forum on Wednesday in Brussels. In his speech as the keynote speaker at a working panel session on transport corridors hosted within the framework of the Forum, Garibashvili highlighted Georgia’s strategic geographic location – “being at the crossroads of Europe and Asia” – as one of the country’s “strongest assets”. He emphasised “an enhanced connectivity” as a “priority” of Georgia’s domestic agenda and noted despite not having…

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday told the opening event of the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum the strategic partnership with China was “important” for Georgia’s economic stability. In his address to the fourth edition of the Forum, Garibashvili highlighted the “key role” of the strategic partnership between the two countries as a “bridge” between Asia and Europe. Recently, Georgia and China elevated ties to the strategic partnership level, which boosts our role as a link between the continents, fostering greater connectivity and economic collaboration. Our Strategic Partnership with China is important for Georgia’s economic development and stability, and its…

Berlin (06/11 – 58) UN Special Rapporteur of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has once again called on the authorities of Tajikistan to release imprisoned Tajik journalists and bloggers. Mary Lawlor posted on her social media account, formerly Twitter, that during a meeting with Tajikistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jonibek Hikmat, in New York on October 24, she reiterated her call for the Tajik authorities to release the convicted human rights defenders and journalists, including Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva. Last year, in Tajikistan, eight journalists and bloggers were sentenced to various prison terms, ranging from 7…