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February 23 2012
Georgia: Online campaign targets Russian president's Facebook page
With Russian soldiers stationed in Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a group of Forum.ge users proposed to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 by posting anti-occupation comments on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's Facebook page.
Cyxymu, a Georgian blogger who was the target of attacks on Facebook, Google Blogger, LiveJournal and Twitter, forcing the latter offline for two hours on 7 August 2009, posted a photo on Facebook alerting many Georgians to the campaign.
More than 200 users of the social networking site then started to post comments and continue to do so.
“Дмитрий Анатольевич, я требую вывода российских оккупационных войск из Грузии!”
“Dmitry Anatolevich, I demand the withdrawal of Russian occupational forces from Georgia!”
An hour later comments started to disappear from the page, reported Cyxymu. Georgians, however, did not stop posting the comments and taking screenshots of Medvedev's Facebook page.
Facebook users later reported that the page was no longer accessible in Georgia, with some alleging it had been blocked. Later, when it was available, many comments left by Georgians users were found to have been deleted.
February 22 2012
Georgia: Assassination attempt on Abkhazia leader
ЖЖ Сухуми სოხუმი cyxymu [RU] updates its readers on another assassination attempt made today on the defacto President of Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region, Alexander Ankvab. The blog reports one bodyguard was killed, with another two wounded, in the fifth attempt on Ankvab's life since 2005.
February 21 2012
Guatemala: Looking to Georgia for a Lesson on Fighting Corruption
Blogger Luis Figueroa [es] wonders if Guatemala could benefit from following Georgia's example in fighting corruption.
February 10 2012
Georgia: Allegations made online against billionaire opposition politician
As parliamentary elections approach this year in Georgia, to be followed by a presidential vote in 2013, allegations against Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire opposition politician, have appeared on the Internet. The alleged exposé of life in the Ivanishvili household by American teacher, Patrick Downey, formerly employed by the businessman turned politician, have been met with skepticism from other expatriates in the former Soviet republic, and not least because of claims also made against Georgia in general, the U.S., and ['his ancestral homeland of'] Ireland. Downey had sought asylum or residency in the latter, according to a video blog, “in light of recent uncontrolled and willfully ill-advised policies concerning the mass emigration of non-Irish persons to Ireland […].” Ivanishvili has responded by saying that Downey “is suffering from psychological problems.”
January 03 2012
Georgia: Return of the Meskhetian Turks
The repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks to Georgia from Azerbaijan, Russia and Central Asia is not just a priority for the Georgian government, but also an obligation it has had to fulfill to the Council of Europe since becoming a member in 1999. Over 100,000 people were deported by Stalin in 1944 from the Meskheti region of Georgia, among them Hemshin (Muslim Armenians), Kurds, and Karapapakhs. By far the largest group relocated, however, were the Meskhetian Turks.
It is believed that at least 400,000 Meskhetian Turks now live outside of Georgia, although it has been unclear how many would return in a process that should have officially ended last year, but which might be extended. This has been one of the reasons why the process of resettlement has taken so long, especially as ethnic Armenians now make up the majority population in what is now the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. As a result, in order not to strain inter-ethnic relations, the Georgian government is settling Meskhetian Turks throughout the country.
East of Center recently touched upon the sensitivities surrounding the issue.
Thanks to Stalin’s paranoia, millions of Muslims and members of various non-Slavic ethnic groups in the Soviet Union were forcibly relocated to Central Asia during the ’30s and ’40s. It’s hard to think of any of these communities that has been victimized more often and so thoroughly ignored by the wider world as the Meskhetian Turks. […]
Clearly, however, Georgia is not capable of resettling that large a population anywhere on its territory, much less the underdeveloped Samtskhe-Javakheti region where the Meskhetians originally lived. And then there is the Armenian question, and a large dose of anti-Muslim feeling. […]
Salim Khamdiv of Abastumani village. Khamdiv was 14 when the deportation happened © Temo Bardzimashvili
However, in a two-year application period ending in July 2010, the Georgian government received only 5,841 eligible applications according to the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI). This amounted to just 9,350 individuals. Ahıska Türkleri – Ahıskalılar explains what the Meskhetian Turks hope for.
We want to return our lands from which we were expelled unjustly. As of today, we have been settling down in 2000 different settlements at 9 different countries including USA. We have difficulty in getting citizenship, settlement permission and work permission in the countries where we live. Our culture and language is on the edge of vanishing. We want to return our country as Georgian citizens and to live in our lands from now on.
Osman Mekhriev (left) and Islam Niazov, elders of the Abastumani Meskhetian community, take a break from the holiday prayers during the end of Ramazan celebrations © Temo Bardzimashvili
Last year, Zaka Guluyev's Blog detailed the situation of some of those that have returned, mainly from Azerbaijan, to Samtskhe-Javakheti.
Muslim Arifov and his family has come back to Akhiltskhe three years ago from Saatly, settlement of Azerbaijan. Arifov says that now he feels happy coming back and live in his motherland Georgia. “My parents were unfairly deported from this region. Now I’m happy that I managed to come back and live in my home Georgia with my family.”
Two months ago Muslim’s relative Mehemmed Rehimov also decided to come back with his family from Azerbaijan and to live in his motherland Akhlstkhe. Mehemmed Rehimov says that Georgia seems better place to live in. “It’s very good sense to live in my motherland Georgia. two months already past after my coming to Georgia. I’m happy here with my family and I’m feeling myself very well”.
[…]
Ismayil Moidze, the chairman of the [Vatan Georgian Axhiska Turks] society says that, their organization was expecting more people to apply for returning. But he explains that many families refused to apply because […] many documents are required for applying [for] repatriat status in Georgia. […] That’s why many families decided to stay where they live”.
Rana Rajabova, a 24-year-old bride in the Azerbaijani village of Shirinbeili. Rana's grandparents, natives of the Arali village in Georgia's Adigeni region, were deported to Uzbekistan. Before the deportation they were told by the soldiers that they would return in 7 days, so no belongings should be taken. Her grandmother hid her gold jewelry at home with the hope of returning after a week, Rana's family has applied for the repatriation and says that they do not want to be "refugees." © Temo Bardzimashvili
Georgian Youth | Multiculturality | New Challenges looks at how the new arrivals are reintegrating.
In Samstkhe-Javakheti, the regional association “Toleranti” provides families of repatriated Meskhetians with legal counseling, medical assistance and language support. In the frame of its 3-year project “Provision of humanitarian assistance to repatriate Meskhs and prevention of “self-repatriation”, the association noticeably organizes classes for young repatriated Meskhetians twice a week. Youth who attend the classes hope to improve their chances of success at school, where they receive tuition in Georgian, and to support their integration in the community.
Considering how motivated they are to learn Georgian, and as quickly as possible, this integration is usually 100% successful.
[…]
As many others however, one thing prevents them from totally feeling home in Georgia: they are waiting for an answer to their application for the Georgian citizenship, which they sent two years ago. Without citizenship, they are not fully-fledged citizens in Georgia, and therefore struggle to have access to basic services like medical assistance. They have no choice, though: just like the others, they have to wait […] – this means a life of uncertainty in the long-term…
Portraits of Abdullah Gamidov, his wife Khalida, and her father Zia Chumidze lie on the checker board in the Gamidov's house in Kant, Kyrgystan. Zia Chumidze was fighting at the frontline when the deportation happened and never made it home. © Temo Bardzimashvili
Where's Keith comments on the work of Georgian journalist and photographer Temo Bardzimashvili who has been documenting the return of the Mskhetian Turks to Georgia as well as their lives in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Some of Bardzimashvili's work, “The Unpromised Land – the Meskhetians’ Long Journey Home,” was exhibited in Tbilisi, sponsored by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), and accompanies this post with kind permission.
Delizia Flaccavento also posts photographs of a Meskhetian refugee community in Buffalo, New York, while ECMI says there is a “serious need […] to enhance public awareness on the right of deported persons to return and on the repatriation process […], in particular through the media and the educational system.”
January 02 2012
Caucasus: The Year in Review
As popular uprisings spread through the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, the Arab Spring also tried to take root in the South Caucasus. However, while opposition forces in the region sought to capitalize on the protests, especially hoping to benefit from international media interest in ‘Facebook Revolutions,' they failed to to achieve similar results.
In Armenia, for example, the low use of social media in political activism was particularly evident. With the number of Facebook users standing at just 123,000 at the time, few signed up for the ‘Armenian Revolution of Reform' although, as testimony to the importance of traditional grassroots political activity, around 10,000 people did turn out to protest.
At the same time, in neighboring Azerbaijan, where the use of social media is arguably more evolved than in Armenia despite a slightly lower Facebook penetration rate, thousands signed up for protest actions planned for March. Yet, despite that declared intention to attend, barely more than a hundred youth actually took to the streets and found themselves easily dispersed or detained by police.
Ironically, Facebook and Twitter was better used to report on those detentions in the Azerbaijani capital, and the same was true the following day when another protest action was staged by a traditional opposition party.
There was also criticism of the protests from some bloggers, although demonstrations still continued the following month. By May, however, attention had already turned to Eurovision. With the annual musical competition, launched in Europe in the 1950s, no stranger to controversy in the Caucasus, the event was to become even more interesting when when Azerbaijan unexpectedly won.
And as bloggers and activists turned their attention towards staging the competition in Baku later this year, some naturally used the opportunity to raise some other more sensitive issues. One of those was the continued incarceration of journalist and prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev, with Amnesty International especially making renewed calls for his release.
Channel 4 anchor Jon Snow.
The UK's veteran Channel 4 anchorman Jon Snow led the campaign launched on Twitter and two days later the journalist was pardoned and released. However, some online media observers such as Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman questioned whether the micro-blogging site had played as significant a role as it first might have seemed.
Indeed, despite Fatullayev's release, the year was also marked by the arrest of other activists in Azerbaijan such as Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Jabbar Savalan, allegedly on trumped-up politically motivated charges, although the latter was pardoned in just before the end of December.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Georgia, Facebook resulted in the dismissal of a policeman identified through the social media site after the dispersal of striking veterans from the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts. Even so, social media was perhaps better known for ridiculing opposition protesters in May or discussing the visit to Tbilisi by Sharon Stone and the appearance of a Georgian road sign in a Beyoncé video.
But, with more than 700,000 Facebook users in the country, that's not to say there wasn't any political engagement online with the Georgian government particularly active in this area. In fact, with parliamentary elections scheduled for Armenia and Georgia this year and presidential elections in all three countries in 2013, the use of social media will likely become more important as citizens become more engaged.
In Armenia, for example, Facebook has been used to petition the capital's municipality to end the killing of stray dogs and to call for the dismissal of a controversial regional governor. Moreover, while these were genuine grassroots initiatives, there also continues to be substantial funding from the US Government and other international donors, although it remains to be seen to what extent such projects will succeed.
The first test will likely be the May parliamentary elections in Armenia, with Georgia following in the Autumn or possibly earlier, so stay up-to-date with the latest developments on Twitter at @gvcaucasus. Շնորհավոր Նոր Տարի. Yeni İliniz Mübarək. გილოცავთ ახალ წელს. С Новым Годом. Happy New Year.
November 04 2011
Russia/Georgia: The Dilemma of Politics Blogging for Cash
Paid bloggers and the phenomenon of “shady PR” has become a reality in the Russian online sphere and even received some coverage on a Russian television channel. Global Voices wrote about the issue in detail a year ago – although it seems that prices have increased significantly since then; one can also read about it on other websites (for example here and here).
A recent discussion on the blog of Yuri Yakunin, a writer and popular political blogger in Georgia, shows how tempting accepting money for writing a blog post may be on many levels. Yakunin’s post is interesting because it digs into the ethical aspect of the issue. The discussion reveals why it may be acceptable for some people to take the payment, and it also shows why the refusal to write a paid story can be viewed as stupidity.
“Am I an idiot?”
'Money under the mouse' stock photo from sxc.hu
On October 17, 2011, Yakunin wrote [ru] on his blog:
Сегодня предложили написать статью за …. 300$ : – нужна статья про вашего президента и его министров о том какие они плохие.
The conversation started on Skype when someone named “Sergey” introduced himself as the manger of one of Moscow public relations agencies and made the offer.
Yakunin posted a screenshot [ru] of the chat to prove his words.
“What is in it for you?” Yakunin asked apparently smitten by such a generous proposal.
“I am paid for that”, Sergey explained. “And more than 300 dollars.”
“I see”, Yakuning paused.
“It is just I cannot find a blogger in Georgia”, Sergey seemed frustrated and a little surprised. “Everyone is for Saakahsvili [Georgia’s president].”
“You won’t find any. I am not Saakashvili’s supporter and I can write a lot of things but not for money”, Yakunin replied.
“Am I an idiot [for refusing the offer]?” Yakunin asked his readers. He second-guesses his decision several times in comments referring to his lack of money (he lives on a small pension) and the upcoming birthday of his son who wants a present.
“Write the article,” fellow blogger and reader temur25 replied [ru].
“If you don’t write it, someone else will.” “You don’t need money?” tipo-graff asked [ru].
“Write it. Everybody wins. You and the manager. And Saakashvilli, I think, will survive it,” Run-if-you-can wrote [ru].
But Yakunin stood by his decision: “I would [write it]”, Yakunin replied. “But a spoon of s**t in a barrel of honey or a spoon of honey in a barrel of s**t is still s**t. I don’t want my family to smell that.”
“But would there be any lies in the article?” continued run-if-you-can. “I understand you don’t like Saakashvili and you don’t support the official party line. So, what is the problem?”
“I am not talking about lies” explained Yakunin. “One can find in the comments here more than needed for this kind of article but I won’t be writing the TRUTH for money! I would write an advertisement [for money] but not something sacred.”
Tempting reality
It should be noted that many LiveJournal users did support Yakunin in his decision. But the fact that he – one of the best known bloggers in Georgia – feels he needs to explain himself and turns to his online community for support, indicates the climate of insecurity in which many prominent political bloggers in the country live.
Popularity and influence online often leads to “interesting” offers to monetize on the hordes of followers (again, see the Global Voices article mentioned above or confessions by russos here [ru]). The practice amongst Russian bloggers of accusing each other of taking money in return for writing a blog post rarely surprises anyone. One can only guess how many people actually take money without saying anything, or advertising their incorruptibility. Difficult financial situations and the enormous effort needed to attract thousands of blog readers play their role.
As some of the replies to Yakunin's post show, there is an assumption that someone is always willing to take the money (“If you don’t write it, someone else will”). Unfortunately, the mere expression of a different point of view leads to accusations of being a paid blogger. “They think if you write about someone in a way different from the others, that means you are paid [for your posts],” Yakunin wrote.
Although largely viewed as a platform for expressing opinions silenced by traditional media, the Internet can easily become a tool for setting political agendas. But paying bloggers for promoting certain political messages is a slap in the face of freedom of expression. It is also a dangerous tendency that may well discredit the very principle of the marketplace of ideas, which in Russia and former Soviet Republic countries is still struggling with the legacy of repressive regimes.
August 14 2011
Russia-Georgia-US: Versions of War
Eugene Ivanov of The Ivanov Report - on the third anniversary of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war - argues that US demands that Georgia should control its entire territory to become a NATO-member was a key motivation for escalation of the South Ossetian conflict into outright war.
US-Russia: Reset in the Balance
Gordon Hahn of Russia: Other Points of View provides perspective to the gradual decay of US Russia reset policy against the background of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and increasing political turmoil in Ukraine.
Armenia: Welcome to Turkey
One Hell of a Ride posts an update on its motorcycle trip from Armenia across Turkey. The blogger has now entered the country from Georgia and notes how professional and polite Georgian police are compared to their Armenian counterparts, while also noting that Turkish border guards welcomed him into Turkey in the Armenian language.
July 26 2011
Azerbaijan: Fascinated by Georgia
Şüarımız GƏLƏCƏK! [AZ] travels to Georgia and becomes charmed by the beauty and “scent of democracy” the country offers in the region. The blogger notes that while his home country of Azerbaijan is considered to be the fastest growing economy in the South Caucasus it still lags behind from Georgia in terms of tourism.
July 07 2011
Russia, U.S.: RT and American Media
Mark Adomanis of Forbes' The Russia Hand writes about RT, a Russian TV news network previously known as Russia Today, and the American media.
June 26 2011
Armenia: LGBT Persons Still Facing Discrimination
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons are still facing discrimination in Armenia and much of the rest of the South Caucasus, a new groundbreaking two-year study by the Council of Europe (CoE) on the situation across member states has found. In addition to being the last member state to decriminalize homosexual male sex, Armenia, which joined the CoE in 2001, does not recognize same-sex marriage or partnerships and adoption rights for LGBT persons, notes Unzipped: Gay Armenia.
In some member states, being gay or lesbian is viewed as a “betrayal” of national values and unity. Such arguments may be grounded on a specific understanding of the nation or the state which aims to preserve the homogeneity of the nation. For example, an interlocutor from the authorities explained that in Armenia being homosexual is often seen as disloyal to the traditional values of the Armenian people.
Armenia's neighbors, Azerbaijan and Georgia didn't fare too well CoE's report, either. When it comes to having gay neighbors, Turkey and Armenia both tied with 87 percent of the population saying they did not want to have a gay or lesbian neighbor, according to respective surveys with unknown methodologies. In Georgia, the figure was 84 percent. A 2009 incident is highlighted with regards to LGBT rights in Azerbaijan.
In Azerbaijan during 2009 police raided bars which LGBT persons visit and arrested almost 50 people. Police reportedly held the individuals and threatened to expose their sexual orientation publicly unless they paid a bribe. A film documentary from Azerbaijan in which several people testify about their experiences also points to such incidents of blackmail.
While Armenia's place at the bottom of the table when it came to decriminalization of gay male sex isn't anything to be proud of, says Unzipped, there's room for hope when it comes to progress for LGBT rights:
Let's be among the first within post-Soviet countries to start implementing equality and human-rights-for-all legislative and social changes. Dreaming? May be. But no one can deprive me of dreams. Especially if they are potentially achievable.
Earlier this month, Public In Need of Information and Knowledge (PINK) signed a historic memorandum with Armenia's Human Rights Ombudsman on protection of LGBT rights, the NGO wrote in its blog. While Istanbul celebrates its 19th LGBT Pride Week, including a much-anticipated parade, the blog Le Tourin in 3 Parts advocates why Yerevan needs a similar celebration:
In Yerevan, I have met straight people who hang out with queers, who are tolerant (as much as I hate this word), who support equal rights for all peoples. These people would stand out against injustice in any form and if someone attempted to physically hurt another person because he was gay, they would be up in arms in a second to defend him.
But too often I find that this “tolerance” has a limit, a boundary which cannot be crossed. Sometimes this limit has to do with queers raising or adopting kids, sometimes it has to do with gay marriage and sometimes it's just simply being out as queer. And then there's the disparity when it comes to men and women (and let's not even talk about the disparity when it comes to acceptance of sexual preference vs. acceptance of gender identity): Too often in Yerevan (as I have no doubt elsewhere) I have come across straight guys who say they have no problems with lesbians but thinking about two men having sex is just disgusting (զզվելի) and unnatural (բնական չի).
[…]
But to get back to the title of this post, why Yerevan needs a pride parade: even the Well-Intentioned, Tolerant guys, even the human rights defenders and activists, even those who will stand beside us and be our allies and supporters — even these groups of people don't realize what it means to be queer and live in this society, why we need to be reclaim space and why even though he may be tolerant, deep down he thinks that being gay is unnatural, that queers shouldn't raise kids, we shouldn't marry or attend church, and that really everything would be so much better if we didn't exist and complicate his world.
There are 47 states that have membership in the CoE and all are signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty drafted in 1950 in which all CoE member states are party to.
June 20 2011
Georgia: Government 2.0
Various agencies and officials in the Georgian government are increasingly embracing social media and Web 2.0 tools in order to communicate with the country's computerized population. As the technology develops and more Georgians join social media sites, it becomes clear that the government intends to directly connect with its citizens. The leading reformer in the region, Georgia follows a world-wide trend of digitization and e-government by taking concrete steps online.
For example, citizens can download the driver's license preparation test from the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, register and declare their property on the Revenue Service's website and, in February this year, Transparency International Georgia, with the support of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation in Georgia, launched Chemikucha.ge, a local version of the British FixMyStreet.com, an online platform enabling citizens to report problems such as potholes or garbage collection.
Chemikucha.ge – chemi kucha means “our street” – is designed to help and encourage residents of Tbilisi to report local problems on their street to City Hall. The reports are located on a map and can be viewed and discussed by residents, stakeholders and representatives of the competent government authority. The platform, launched through a year-long project, enables the public to monitor the competent authorities reaction to a reported issue of concern. Chekikucha is an adaptation of the open-source FixMyStreet concept and can also be accessed at FixMyStreet.ge.
[…]
The goal of www.chemikucha.ge is to create an online platform that facilitates direct communication on local problems between citizens and the city of Tbilisi's administration. Furthermore, we want to encourage citizens to report issues in their neighborhood they are concerned about by lowering the barriers to get active, share and discuss problems with others and monitor the authorities' reactions.
Consequently, the project aims to create more public awareness and debate about dangerous problems on the streets of Tbilisi. By bringing people's concern about local problems into the public sphere, we hope that competent authorities will be able to address and solve those issues more quickly and effectively.
Reports of problems on the streets of the capital will make Tbilisi City Hall officials more responsive to problems that are reported by citizens.
Reports are directly sent to the Tbilisi Municipality and 556 problems have been reported so far, with 344 already fixed. As mentioned above, the Georgian government has been active with social media for some time. Most recently, on 9 June, Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava held a live conference via LiveStream. Citizens were able to ask questions through the Mayor's official Facebook page. Around 500-600 people watched the live conference, the first of its kind in the country with similar events promised in the future.
Ugulava has a Twitter account too. Launched in May, 113 tweets have been sent and there are 194 followers at time of writing.
Ugulava is not alone on Twitter either. The Prime Minister, Nika Gilauri, and the Minister of Education and Science also have Twitter accounts. Georgia's first lady, Sandra Roelofs, was also one of the first to use social media, couple of days ago she posted this humorous photo on Facebook.
"You know I am promoting ROAD SAFETY, but last Sunday, when I saw this on the highway between Gori and Tbilisi I got confused….. A COW IN A LADA 07 !!"
Ministries and governmental agencies also have their own Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and although it appears many of them have same administrators based on the content shared, they are updated daily. Most of these accounts don't encourage discussion, however. One of the newest faces in Georgian government, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Vera Kobalia also posts job announcements on her Facebook profile, where she has 4143 friends and 907 followers on Twitter.
@VeraKobalia: At the UN climate change conference. No wifi anywhere on site! but lots of smart minds :)
It has to be noted that Facebook pages of governmental officials are actively advertised under sponsored links:
David Bakardze, the chairman of the Georgian Parliament.
It is unknown why the President, Mikheil Saakashvili, does not follow an example of his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, and open either a Twitter or Facebook account, but given the popularity of social media in the region this might change. With 621,640 Facebook users in the country, Georgia boasts the largest penetration for the social networking site in the region. Facebook is the most popular site according to Alexa.com with Twitter the 13th. Internet penetration is also believed to stand at more than 40 percent although most of the users live in the capital Tbilisi.
June 05 2011
Georgia: Sharon Stone seducing the nation
The most popular topic for discussion on social networks, as well as by the online and traditional media, this weekend was the premiere of Renny Harlin's movie about the 2008 Georgia-Russia war, called “5 Days of August.” Not only was the director himself in town for the event, but so were the film's actors Andy Garcia, Dean Cain and others. However, the most important guest invited for the premiere was Hollywood actress Sharon Stone.
Flying in from Moscow where she attended the Muz.TV Awards, Stone arrived a day before the film crew who flew all the way from Los Angeles. Preparation and media coverage days before her arrival fed the online commentary.
უკვე რამდენიმე დღეა, რაც თბილისი შერონის ქალაქად ან “შერონსთაუნად” (“Sharon’s town“) არის ქცეული. ჩვენ შერონით ვსუნთქავთ, შერონით ვხედავთ, შერონით გვესმის და შერონით განვიცდით.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili even hosted the actress on her first night, introducing her to night views of Tbilisi from the Presidential Palace. The tour of his official residence also turned out to be fun for the host as well as the guest. Footage was widely aired on Georgian TV and shared on social networks.
Before attending the premiere of Harlin's movie today, Stone even met with the country's spiritual leader, the Patriarch of Georgia, and was also spotted on the streets of old Tbilisi by many people.
bicyclemark: Ran into Sharon Stone twice today on the streets of Tbilisi. We looked at each other for 2 seconds and then went back to being tourists.
bicyclemark: right after she walked passed me some old american couple greeted her, shook her hand and side bye. hmm could have done that.
lakobukia: I am gonna see Sharon Stone tonight, OMG I AM SOOOO EXCITED
mziakupunia: Crowds gathered at Rustaveli cinema greeted Sharon Stone and Andy Garcia with loud cheers and applauds.
Meanwhile, a group of students gathered in front of the Radisson Blue hotel where the Hollywood stars were staying, protesting what they considered to be pompous arrangements for the premiere, holding posters reading “Basic instincts against basic values”, “Enough, give money to refugees,” and “Cheap propaganda is not art” in a less than veiled reference to criticism of Harlin's movie by some film critics. News agencies reported and Forum.ge picked the topic up with further discussion.
Doin.ge, whose extended post criticizes local media coverage, also predicts that it will get worse after the Hollywood actress leaves Tbilisi.
“შერონის პირველი დღე თბილისში”, “შერონის მეორე დღე თბილისში”, “შერონი ქართულ რესტორანში”, “შერონმა წაუცეკვა”, “ჰოლივუდის ვარსკვლავს მშვიდობის ხიდი მოეწონა”, “შერონი მხარს უჭერს საქართველოს სუვერენიტეტს და ტერიტორიულ მთლიანობას”, “შერონი გმობს პუტინის ოკუპანტურ რეჟიმს”, “შერონი ჩაფრინდა და იწერება – კარგად ვარო”, “შერონს ქართული სუფრა ენატრება” და მრავალი.
Sharon Stone leaves Georgia on Monday.
May 30 2011
Abkhazia: Sergei Bagapsh Dies
In Moscow's Shadows and Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog write about the implications of the death of Sergei Bagapsh, the president of the Republic of Abkhazia, on May 29.
May 24 2011
Georgia: Tolkienesque clashes on the streets of Tbilisi
On 21 May, just days before the 20th anniversary of Georgia declaring its independence from the former Soviet Union, protests organized by the opposition People's Assembly accused President Saakashvili of monopolizing power became the main focus on social media sites that weekend. As many as 10,000 people, who gathered first at the central Freedom Square, later marched on the Public Broadcaster demanding that the protest be broadcast live.
Achieving that, Channel 2 aired the demonstration, complete with Bella Ciao, an old Italian partisan song that became almost an anthem for the protests, repeated nearly constantly in the background. An independent journalist who runs his own personal news blog uploaded video.
The following morning, however, saw the situation turn ugly when protesters clashed with police who had been sitting in a car. Attacking them with plastic flagpoles, the police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd and several minor injuries were reported on both sides. A second clash also occurred when a group of unknown people with similar poles attacked protesters resulting in a minor skirmish on the streets.
While some bloggers reacted to the protests with critical comments, others used more visual ways of expressing themselves, recreating scenes from several famous movies from photos of the events.
Photos reminded some of Star Wars
This image parodying the dwarf from Lord of the Rings was widely shared on Facebook
A tongue in cheek representation of a protester as Mel Gibson from Braveheart
Some were having fun recreating reality, others seemed simply bored with the latest political developments broadcast live on television:
May 21 2011
Georgia: Beyoncé's girls rule an apocalyptic… Caucasus?
The premiere of American singer Beyoncé's “Run The World (Girls)” video on May 18 evoked much debate among bloggers and social media users in Georgia. The reason for this was not that she had fans in the country, that it was the first single from her highly anticipated new album, or even because of its “women empowering” and aggressive nature, but rather a simple road sign that was visible 1 minute and 50 seconds into the video.
Dressed in Givenchy with two chained hyenas, Beyoncé was “set in an apocalyptic African landscape with a Tbilisi sign in the background (?)” as Giovanna Badilla, seemingly also confused, mentioned on The Wild Magazine blog. Moreover, not only did the sign point to the Georgian capital, but also Gori, a city bombed during the August 2008 war with Russia and Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway territory of South Ossetia.
The appearance of the road sign prompted a lot of speculation, as The Young Georgians explains.
It is unknown why did Beyonce use this sign or what is the message but many in Georgia talk about its link with the August 2008 war.
Some of those commenting on the post were happy, surprised or even insulted.
Lala: I really doubt there is a message behind it. She probably has no idea what it is and just liked the “exotic” alphabet.
@lala I totally Agree with u, And i Think that this is very disrespect of our nation….what the hell is doing georgian road sign in desert…i dont get it, no, useless, pointless..
One Facebook user had one take.
she may have no idea what this is all from. My guess it is some designer & choreographer that put this together…. follow the money to that. Just my speculation.
Some did “follow the money” and suggested that the Georgian government paid for the “product placement,” but others also considered that it could have been because of the Georgian alphabet used on the sign as a comment on Cyxymu's post said:
мне кажется, что для всего остального мира очень необычно и красиво выглядит грузинское письмо =)
Some suggested that maybe Georgian graphics designers were involved in the making of the video, or at least in its post-production, and decided to include it. However, others speculated that Beyoncé's new video was either related to, inspired or from the soundtrack of Renny Harlin's new film about the 2008 war, “5 Days of August” as one Facebook user somewhat sarcastically wrote.
1. სიმღერა იმ ფილმის საუნდტრეკია
2. ვიდეო იმავე პავილიონშია გადაღებული, რომელშიც ფილმი, თანაც რომელიღაც შუალედში, ფილმის ტიპები ლანჩზე როცა გავიდნენ
2. The video is shot in the same set, as the movie was shot, while the movie crew went out for lunch
Being unable to find a real explanation, the online community started to joke about the political message of the road sign and started referring to Beyoncé as “Mother of Georgia” as the picture below shows:
Beyonce's couture outfit replaced with the Statue of Mother of Georgia also is a symbol of patriotic mothers, raising warrior kids to defend their country from the enemies
A Facebook group, now unavailable, to this effect was even set up while one user perhaps jokingly thanked the singer for her contribution to the development of their country.
Georgia Loves Beyonce
Beyoncé helps us in uniting Georgia.
May 20 2011
Armenia: Royal visit to Ireland as an example for the Caucasus
Writing on his official blog, Charles Lonsdale comments on this week's historic visit by the Queen to the Republic of Ireland. The Ambassador to Armenia for the United Kingdom says that even if the conflicts in the South Caucasus are different, the visit shows that “even long-running and seemingly intractable conflicts and division can be overcome and that reconciliation is possible.”
May 08 2011
Georgia: Human rights precedent in the Caucasus
Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that the first case against homophobia displayed by police in dealing with a LGBT activist in Georgia has been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights. Also the first such case from the Caucasus, the blog notes the important precedent it represents.
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