Global Voices » Georgia

Georgia's Gay Rights Activists Protest Broadcast of Secret Sex Tapes

Tamara Mirianashvili — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:56:36 +0000

On January 14, 2013, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia announced [ka] that the previous chief of the Military Police Megis Kardava, secretly filmed videos of public figures having sex with homosexual partners. The office alleges these videotapes were used to blackmail the public figures into cooperation with President Mikheil Saakashvili's government.

Prosecutors released blurred versions of the videos to Georgian TV stations, to dispel any doubts about the veracity of their claims. But the broadcast has sparked an outcry over invasion of privacy.

Image by Eric Politzer for Identoba. From their Facebook page.

Despite the blurring, some say, the men in the videos can still be identified and minority rights groups argue in a highly orthodox country like Georgia, the videos could put those filmed at risk.

Many human rights organizations, including LGBT Georgia [ka] have asked the officials to stop broadcasting the videos through TV channels:

@Dato_Shubladze: The Association “LGBT Georgia” appeals to the Georgian President, Prime Minister, Public Defender and Prosecutor General. http://bit.ly/11yOttZ

According to Transparency International Georgia:

In our opinion, there is no public interest in seeing these secretly recorded videos, while there is a strong interest of the people affected by this case to have their privacy protected.

The organization also claims that Georgia's TV stations failed to comply with the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters [pdf], according to which they:

shall not show sex in programs aired before midnight and shall only portray sex or discussions about sex between 20:00 and 23:00 if this is justified by public interested and edited in a proper form.

The code also stipulates when reporting on crime “broadcasters shall seek to balance the freedom of expression with the presumption of innocence and respect for the privacy of suspect, accused, convict, witness and victim.”

Following this criticism, on January 15, Archil Kbilashvili, the Prosecutor General of Georgia explained that the Prosecutor’s Office didn't violate human rights by showing the videotapes, as it was impossible to identify the people in the released videos.

Explanation is not a relief, on the contrary, existence of such incriminating videos is and always will be the reason for permanent fear for those who were taped and for those who are not taped as well:

@lishtotah Systemic homophobia – still alive RT@CivilGe: Public Defender criticizes release of ‘gay honey trap’ videoshttp://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=25644 … #tbilisi

LGBT organizations in Georgia scheduled a Facebook event [ka] to protest the blackmailing, entrapment and humiliation of people for their sexuality, in front of the Persecutor’s Office of Georgia. Recently, the Organization “IDENTOBA” [ka] also launched an online campaign “Trap Me” [ka].

Georgia: A Caucasian Abu Ghraib

Onnik Krikorian — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:17:23 +0000

Eva Anderson, a Senior Analyst with Transparency International, examines the recent prison abuse video scandal in Georgia as the country prepares for crucial 1 October Parliamentary Elections. The blog post in particular looks at the penitentiary system and the urgent need for reform.

Georgia: ‘Broom Revolution’ as Elections Approach

Onnik Krikorian — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:18:32 +0000

Thousands have protested in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, after videos showing physical abuse in the country's prison system aired on some television stations and were shared on YouTube. Although widely detailed in various human rights reports, the footage surfacing on 18 September, 2012, was the first that many Georgians had actually seen.

This video showing the physical abuse of a prisoner was uploaded to YouTube by vfor georgia on September 18 [WARNING: Graphic content]:

Social media reactions

According to media reports, Georgia has the sixth-highest prison population per capita in the world along with a high mortality rate. Commentary on Facebook reflected the widespread anger at the videos while others such as Eka Rostomashvili ‏updated followers on Twitter as to developments during the first evening of protests.

@ERostomashvili: Horrific, inhuman things happening in Georgian penitentiary. Ppl gather outside Philharmonics to protest against violence in prison #Tbilisi

@ERostomashvili: Protestors have blocked Melikishvili. Drivers don't seem to object terribly and turn around. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison

@ERostomashvili: Journalists estimate 500 ppl are protesting against violence in prison outside Philharmonics. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison

@ERostomashvili: Protestors request resignation of ministers of interior #Akhalaia + penitentiary #Kalmakhelidze. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison

@ERostomashvili: Protestors ask drivers to join them. Estimated turnout at the moment: 1000 people. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison

@ERostomashvili: Protestors take turn to make speeches. Emotional speech was made by a mother of two prisoners. #Tbilisi #gldaniprison

@lingelien: Famous Theater director Sturua comments on prison abuses: “We, the Georgian people, are deeply shocked by the events. ” (1) #gldaniprison

‘Broom Revolution’

The following day, with momentum building behind calls for the resignation of high profile ministers, the protests increased in size and were also reported in other urban centers in Georgia. Referring to scenes of a prisoner being raped with a broom handle, Georgian Photographers, as well as others, dubbed the protests a “Broom Revolution.”

It was the video broadcast On TV about prison torture in Georgia.

Footage shows prisoners being beaten, kicked and abused by a group of staff members.

Additional footage allegedly shows prisoners being sexually assaulted.

Hundreds gathered in central Tbilisi today after two pro-opposition channels broadcast the video.

In case you are wondering why BROOM revolution. One of the videos shows half-naked man, crying and begging for mercy as he is beaten and after raped with a broom.

Protesters burn brooms in Tbilisi, Georgia © Georgian Photographers

With the Minister of Corrections, Probation, and Legal Assistance resigning a day after the videos aired, The Young Georgians updated its readers to new demands from protesters:

Thousands of students marched in streets of Tbilisi on Wednesday to protest abuse and rape in Georgian prisons. Disturbing videos of prisoners being tortured by guards leaked on TV and immediately sparkled Georgians to come out and stand against violence. A protest was organized by the Tbilisi State University students, however they were joined by all major universities. At 3:30 pm students moved to the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) where they demanded the later to air abuse videos. After negotiating with the General Director of GPB students marched towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs where they were joined by drivers and local neighbors. Students demanded the Minister of Internal Affairs Bacho Akhalia and several other officials to step down. Protests were held in all major Georgian cities and across Europe.

Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian

Tamada Tales reported that their demands were met:

In a move signalling the seriousness of the political crisis facing the Georgian government over videos documenting the sexual and physical abuse of Georgian prisoners, Georgian Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia late on September 20 submitted his resignation to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Rustavi2 television reported.

[...]

The news of his resignation was greeted by raucous cheers and car-horn-honking from outside Tbilisi's Philharmonia, where a late-night protest was underway.

As did Twitter:

@ZoeReyners: Resignation of the minister of interior Akhalaia

@SabineICG: Significant: MIA Akhalaia who is resigning was head of prisons during last prison scandal in 2006 when 7 died. End of impunity? #Georgia

Global Voices’ outgoing Caucasus Editor, Onnik Krikorian, also documented the protests, especially those involving students. Meanwhile, at time of writing and despite visibly reducing in size in the evenings, protests continue.

Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian 2012

Gldani Prison Abuse Protest, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian

Georgia: Brutality Behind Bars

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:18:53 +0000

A video showing prisoners being beaten up in one of Georgia's modernized prisons has been uploaded onto YouTube. Other videos appears to show more graphic incidents with one comment on Facebook hoping that they ‘provide impetus to serious structural reforms’ and that ‘prison personnel are held responsible.’

Armenia: A New Transit Route?

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:30:49 +0000

The Armenian Observer reports that construction has started on upgrading Armenia's highways. Effectively connecting Iran with Georgia via Armenia more efficiently, the blog notes the Armenian government's hopes that the road will make the landlocked country an important transit route between Europe and Asia.

Russia's War Games Make Georgia Nervous

Andrey Tselikov — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:13:18 +0000

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.

In June and July Russia held several military exercises with its regional partners. There are more to come in August and September. Of course, none of the planned events are quite as extensive as the one that an Iranian news agency falsely reported on June 19, 2012 in a bit of wishful thinking. There won’t be joint war games involving 90,000 troops held in Syria by Russia, China and Iran.

Even then, the exercises are numerous and heavily concentrated in Central Asia. In June there was Peaceful Mission-2012 [ru], held by five Shanghai Group countries (Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in Tajikistan. There were 2000 troops involved in the antiterrorist themed war game, of which Russia contributed 350.

In July Russia held Aldaspan-2012 [ru], this time bilaterally with Kazakhstan. Then, in early August there was the Frontier-2012 [ru]exercise held jointly by members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). [Uzbekistan, one of the members of CSTO, withdrew from the organization on June 28th. Right before its exit it refused to allow Kazakh troops transit to Tajikistan for the Peaceful Mission-2012 war games.]

Russian Military Exercise 2010. Photo by George Malets. Copyright Demotix (08/26/2010)

So far the only non Central Asia exercise was Slavic Fellowship-2012 [ru], the first military exercise held between Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine in a while. It went by relatively unnoticed in July. In general, none of these exercises have generated much buzz on RuNet, and some of the ones still to come - Selenga-2012 [ru] with Mongolia or Cooperation-2012 [ru] with CSTO, both scheduled for September – are also unlikely to become major news items.

This may not be the case with for this September’s Caucasus-2012 [ru], which Russia is planning to hold with forces from the breakaway Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Caucasus-2012 will take place in North Caucasus region, and will involve [ru] 8,000 troops, as well as heavy machinery, artillery, navy, and air force. This makes it Russia’s largest exercise this year.

Caucasus-2012 is only nominally international in scope, since Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s independence isn’t recognized by many countries. The Russian military is quick to reassure [ru] that bases south of the border will not be involved, even though some forces from those bases will participate in the exercise on Russian territory. However, it is still too close to comfort for the Georgians, who are wary [ru] of an August 2008 scenario. Then too, Russia held war games in the Caucasus just days prior to the invasion.

Some Georgian bloggers, like popular Russian-speaking cyxymu [ru], note that Russia’s mobilization in the region comes right before Georgia’s parliamentary elections on October 1st. Georgia oriented blogger, zabugina [ru], believes that the goal of Russia’s military is to destabilize the region and sway the elections. She thinks that Russia would not have to invade again, in order to exert its influence and manipulate the Georgian public to vote for Russia-friendly parties. Nevertheless, Russian journalist and blogger podrabinek [ru], thinks that Putin might actually launch a small border war as a way to boost his popularity.

However, not all of Russia’s military exercises are generating as much concern as Caucasus 2012. Currently, Russia and India are in the middle of joint exercise Indra-2012 [ru] in Russia’s Republic of Buryatia, on the Mongolian border. One Russian blogger recounts [ru] a humorous story of how people reacted in a bus when a radio announcer misspoke and said that 500,000, rather than 500, Indian troops would be involved in the exercise:

На этом месте в салоне автобуса наступает покусывающая за пятки тишина. Гробовая.

At this point the bus becomes silent – a stomach chilling sort of silence. A deathly silence.

This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

Georgia: Ancient Fortress Discovered in Tbilisi

Liana Aghajanian — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:00:19 +0000

During construction to one of Tbilisi's main streets, parts of a 5th century fortress used to defend the city were unearthed. The Young Georgians has a series of photos of the remarkable discovery, which appears on Georgian cartographer Vakkshuti's map of the capital from 1735.

The South Caucasus at the 2012 Olympics

Liana Aghajanian — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 05:48:58 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.

Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia, Roman Vlasov of Russia, Aleksandr Kazakevic of Lithuania and Emin Ahmadov of Azerbaijan after the Men's Greco-Roman 74 kg Wrestling match/ via London 2012

The three South Caucasus countries have been participating independently in the Olympics since 1996, and they each followed up their records in Beijing this summer in London to walk away with gold, silver and bronze in the physically strenuous activities the region generally excels in, much to the enjoyment of fans and fellow country men and women.

Armenia walked away with one silver and bronze in Men's Greco-Roman wrestling and a surprise bronze medal in women's weightlifting by Hripsime Khurshudyan, which caused a flurry of social media activity. The win even elicited a comment, albeit in transliterated Armenian, from a member of America's most famous Armenian family, the Kardashians.

@RobKardashian: Yes shat hupart yev uraxem mer bolor Hye marsiknerits vor masnaktsumen 2012 tvi Olympiadayum. #Armenia

”I am very proud and happy with all of our Armenian athletes who are participating in the 2012 Olympics.”

@RobKardashian: Armenian Woman KHURSHUDYAN just medaled in Women's Weightlifting (Clean & Jerk)! #ArmenianPride#LondonOlympics2012

Azerbaijan on the other hand took 10 medals home, including two gold in men's freestyle wrestling by Toghrul Asgarov and Sharif Sharifov. This year's Eurovision host country also earned two silver (both in wrestling) and six bronze (wrestling, weightlifting and boxing).

@Farida_Aliyeva: London brought us luck! Azerbaijan got its greatest number of medals – 10 with 2 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze. #Azerbaijan #AZE#Olympics

@RogerMamedov: #Azerbaijan wrestling team did really in the Olympics. Maybe now people will know where I'm from.

Georgia won seven medals, with three silver and three bronze (all of them in wrestling) and one gold in Judo, thanks to Lasha Shavdatuashvili

@MirianJugheli: 20-year old Judoist Lasha Shavdatuashvili becomes an olympic champion! #georgia #caucasus #tbilisi #judo #london2012

The Caucasus Tumblr, in a photo montage and round up of the Olympics made an astute observation based on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia's superior abilities in strength sports:

Never ever, under no circumstances pick up a street fight in the Caucasus.

Athletes with South and North Caucasian descent also participated in London 2012 for Russia as the tumblr notes. Three of Russia's gold medals in judo were won by Tagir Khaybulaev, Mansur Mustafaevich Isaev , both ethnic Avars and Arsen Galstyan, an ethnic Armenian.

The wins prompted an “outpouring of hate from Russian nationalists,” wrote Global Voices author Andrey Tselikov in a post titled, “Russia: The Ugly Side of Olympic Nationalism.”

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.

Georgia: War Photography

Onnik Krikorian — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 09:29:06 +0000

Just before today's fourth anniversary of the August 2008 Russia-Georgia War, Georgian Photographers features a post accompanied by photos from George Tsagareli on documenting conflict in the Caucasus.

Georgia: Civil Society Mobilizes After Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:39:37 +0000

With tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the rise in recent weeks, civil society activists and journalists from both countries last month convened in a small ethnic Azeri village in neighboring Georgia to elaborate plans for an independent mechanism to prevent and monitor incidents on the Line of Contact (LOC).

Despite a ceasefire signed in 1994 which put the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, thousands have died in frontline skirmishes in the 18 years since. And, with no lasting peace agreement in sight, the International Crisis Group (ICG) continues to warn of the danger of an ‘accidental war‘ breaking out.

The event held in Tekali was co-organized by Armenian actor and director turned peace activist Georgi Vanyan, himself recently targeted by nationalists for attempting to screen non-politicized films from Azerbaijan in Armenia, was a small step in trying to defuse tensions and to prevent civilian casualties along the LOC.

Writing on the Caucasian Circle of Peace Journalism, Armenian journalist and editor Yura Manvelyan commented on the initiative.

There was something else that set the meeting in Tekali apart from many other Armenian-Azerbaijani projects: None of the speakers took on the role of spokesperson for official policies, no-one took up the positions held by the presidents, ministers and their spin doctors. The speakers’ statements seemed not to target their “opponents” from the other side, but mostly focussed on themselves and their “own people”. The recent deaths on the border were a stark reminder of the high price paid for the atmosphere of hatred and showed the distance between those who shed the blood and others who give the orders and seek to consolidate their power and wealth by exploiting the “external enemy” and delaying justice.

[...]

The overwhelming majority of those present voted in favour of action by citizens. Moreover, they reached an initial agreement on creating a rapid reaction group that will take steps to prevent armed clashes on the border and to investigate the situation in the area directly around the border. If necessary, Georgians might also be included in the group. To start with it might include the residents of two border villages: Doctors, taxi drivers, farmers and village elders, who would establish and stay in constant contact with each other. Due to the open nature of the project, anyone who wanted to could become a part of it.

Ilgar Velizade, a journalist and analyst from Azerbaijan, also made a blog post.

This meeting saw the first urgent discussion of the prospects of public intervention to manage the Karabakh conflict. In the opinion of the participants, society has, to this day, taken no steps to end hostilities, and remains far removed from what goes on at the border. Participants emphasized that over the course of the 24 years of conflict, a huge divide has emerged between the two peoples, and that Armenian and Azerbaijani civil society organizations now need to cooperate with one another in order to resolve the situation.

[...]

And so the meeting in Tekali demonstrated once more the Armenian and Azerbaijani public desire for peace to be established in the conflict zone as quickly as possible – and that hope for an effective means to regulate the conflict lives in the hearts of many of the two countries’ citizens. As we say, hope never dies.

The International Crisis Group's Sabine Freizer also remarked on Twitter about the event, as did others observing the peace building processes underway in the South Caucasus.

@peaceforsale: an innovative effort for peace – create a zone for it http://fb.me/23yx8yl1q

@SabineICG: [...] @onewmphoto whether war or peace between Armenia + Azerbaijan, civil society can play a key bridging role. Great idea: [...]

Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor was also in attendance, and commented on Velizade's post along with Vanyan's initiative for Ararat Magazine.

Whether that intent is as widespread, as Velizade says or as much as Vanyan hopes, remains to be seen, but the first meeting to establish the Monitoring and Rapid Reaction Group was held in Tekali on July 21. Present were representatives from the NGOs and the International Crisis Group. So too were Bernard O’Sullivan and Stephen Young from the Brussels-based Nonviolent Peaceforce, an organization already working in Georgia, Mindanao/Philippines, South Sudan, and elsewhere. O’Sullivan spoke to Ararat Magazine following the public discussion.

“The Tekali Process first of all attracts our interest because clearly people have a need for civil society to act amongst and protect themselves,” he said. “However, we work on the principle of acceptance. We only go to conflict zones where we’re accepted and obviously this includes civil society, but critically it also means the political leadership, i.e. the governments, of all sides. What will come out of the Tekali Process? I see there is very good will here. The Tekali group said it’s not in their interest to get involved in military or political outcomes, but it is for civilians across ethnic groups to protect themselves in a non-violent way. That’s why we’re very interested.”

According to the organizers of the Tekali event, a Caucasus Film Festival will be staged this month in the small village turned regional peacemaking center.

Georgia: Philanthropic Blogging

Onnik Krikorian — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:38:48 +0000

Net Prophet interviews Givi Avaliani, a Georgian blogger [GE] focusing on online campaigning and charitable activities, and who says that human rights protection and highlighting the poverty around him are his main inspirations. The Transitions Online blog says that more than 120,000 people have visited Avaliani's blog in the past year.

Caucasus: Olympic Women

Onnik Krikorian — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 19:07:08 +0000

Ianyan introduces its readers to the female athletes representing the three countries of the South Caucasus in the Olympic games in London.

‘Small’ Georgia Takes on ‘Big’ Russia with New Media

Andrey Tselikov — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:12:40 +0000

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.

Georgia, located to the south of Russia, is your typical small state: it has a tiny population, a developing economy, and territorial disputes with its largest neighbor Russia. In August 2008 when, Russia briefly invaded the tiny country, no one was particularly surprised that Georgia was unable to counter this show of force.

A small state by definition cannot project sufficient military or economic power to meet a security threat. Since such “hard power” options are unavailable to them, small states are often left with “soft power” as an only means of influencing their adversaries. Soft power, comes in many flavors, not the least of which are public diplomacy and propaganda, traditionally costly endeavors. Fortunately for Georgia, soft power is easier to exercise in this global communication age.

For a politically hostile state (it wants to join NATO and has long opposed Russia's entry into the WTO), Georgia enjoys surpringly good standing among the Russian public. This is partly because of Russia's historical relationship with the country, and Russian affinity for Georgian food and wine. Another reason, however, is Georgian use of online communities to project soft power.

Image uploaded by Flicker user Summersso CC BY-ND 2.0

Even though most Georgians blog in Georgian, there is a sizable contingent of Russian speaking Georgians on Russia's most popular blogging platform LiveJournal (LJ) (a list of 200 such bloggers can be found here [ru]. If ever there is a poster boy of these bloggers, it's cyxymu [ru].) This Abkhazian blogger leaves an average of forty comments per day, which makes him a familiar “face” to followers of the RuNet (Russia's Internet).

cyxymu often engages Russian bloggers in polemics about Russo-Georgian relations. For example, he extensively covered the 2008 conflict, and has apparently made it onto someone's radar as a result. In 2009 his Twitter and blog suffered a DDoS attack, in a similar vein to what Russian opposition members have recently faced.

Coincidentally, one member of the Russian opposition currently lives and blogs in Georgia, Oleg Panfilov [ru] (olegpanfilov2). His original blog was hacked by the notorious hacker Hell, he now writes seven posts a day, in which he either castigates the Kremlin, or extols the virtues of its Georgian counterpart.

In general, these and other bloggers give Russians an idea of everyday life in Georgia, often with pictures [ru]. Although some of them can be critical of the Saakashvilli government, they often give glowing reviews of the reforms it has initiated. Georgian bloggers are aware of their Russian readers, in fact, as described in a June 14th Tbilisi roundtable [ru], many of them write in Russian precisely to attract this audience.

Meanwhile, the Georgian government takes a different approach. Recently, top rated Russian photo-blogger Rustem Adagamov was invited to visit Georgia by the Ministry of the Economy. The several posts he wrote after his return are a mixture of travel writing and great advertisement copy for the revamped Georgian Justice Department and police force [ru].

Adagamov is just the latest in a steady stream of Russian bloggers invited to Georgia by various government agencies. The apparently corruption-free Georgian police is a particularly popular subject. Last year, another photo-blogger, zyalt, made a very similar post, [ru] which was collated from the posts of previous writers [ru], attracting accusations of blogging-for-hire.

Although the Georgian government seems to be following a conscious strategy of co-opting the Russian public through smart use of new media, it's unclear if it will soon see results. After all, public diplomacy works best under a functioning democracy.

Armenia-Georgia: Typography Without Borders?

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:36:39 +0000

Behance features a typographic project to write the Georgian word for hello phonetically in an Armenian script stylized in such a way that it resembles Georgian. Although some letters in the Armenian and Georgian alphabets can resemble each other depending on the fonts and case or styles used, they are otherwise usually visually distinct, although some argue that this is also by design.

Georgia: Elections Portal Goes Online Ahead Of Parliamentary Vote

Onnik Krikorian — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:14:45 +0000

Democracy and Freedom Watch reports on the launch of an online monitoring platform ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2012. The site, Elections Portal, is available in Georgian and English at http://www.electionsportal.ge.