Issue #1318

Issue no: 1318

• OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021 • PUBLISHED WEEKLY

In this week’s issue...

FOCUS

The Batumi Tragedy: Residential Block Collapses, Claims 9 Lives

ON SOCIAL INNOVATION

CENN, EU Award social innovation grantees in Georgia and Armenia

PRICE: GEL 2.50

NEWS PAGE 2

Corona Updates: Cases Shoot Up Again Regionwide, Reintroduction of Restrictions Expected

PAGE 7

NEWS PAGE 3

Why Did Iran-Azerbaijan Relations Become Strained?

POLITICS PAGE 4

The EU and CENN Award Grants to Young Social and Green Entrepreneurs from Georgia and Armenia BUSINESS PAGE 7

AHF Georgia Joins Global Vaccine Access Campaign “Vaccinate Our World”

BY SOFIA BOCHOIDZE

T

he AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has launched a global campaign “Vaccinate Our World”, to urge leaders from the European Union (EU) and G20 countries to

utilize the Summit to commit to real action on global Covid-19 vaccine access. The campaign calls on vaccine manufacturers and international public health institutions to take fair action to vaccinate the world's population against Covid19 as soon as possible. To that end, AHF calls on world leaders to promote international cooperation, not politics, as the driving force behind the pandemic.

The target audience of the global campaign is the general public and governments, vaccine manufacturers and international public health institutions. It also includes leaders from the G20 and global financial institutions, among them the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Continued on page 9

Why Improving the Primary Healthcare System in Georgia Matters SOCIETY PAGE 8

Georgian Arts Palace – Museum of Cultural History Named Best Museum 2021 CULTURE PAGE 11 CULTURE PAGE 11 Prepared for Georgia Today Business by

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2

NEWS

GEORGIA TODAY

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

The Batumi Tragedy: Residential Block Collapses, Claims 9 Lives collapsed, and stopped the permit process, citing a lack of sufficient documents, among them the lack of a blueprint for the basement and first floor.

By the time permission was denied, the building had already collapsed.

A COUNTRY MOURNS

BY ANA DUMBADZE

O

n October 8, Georgia was shaken by a tragedy that occurred in the seaside city of Batumi in Adjara, a place always associated with happy times and fun memories: a 5-storey block of flats collapsed on 26 May Street, claiming the lives of nine residents, including three minors. Four members died from one family: a mother, her two children, and her brother-in-law.

Up to 400 firefighters and rescuers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, along with representatives of various police units, worked non-stop for 29 hours during the search-and-rescue operation.

Rescuers managed to save two children from the ruins, and their condition is stable.

The collapse was caused by repair

works being carried out by a flat owner on the first floor, during which workers damaged the retaining wall of the building.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested three people for the tragic incident – the abovementioned flat owner, Zaur Budatov, and two workers.

“As a result of investigative and operative activities carried out by the Adjara Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, three persons were detained in the course of investigating the collapse of the residential building in Batumi: the owner of the first floor apartment Z.B. (DoB 1975), Kh.S. (DoB 1962), and G.S. (DoB 1992),” the Ministry reported in a statement.

“The committed crime envisages from 2 to 10 years of imprisonment.

“The investigation established that Z.B., the owner of an apartment on the first floor of a residential building located on 26 May Street in Batumi, had hired Kh.S. and G.S. for construction-renovation

works in the apartment. Under his direction and in gross violation of safety rules, construction and renovation works were carried out in the apartment which led to the collapse of one of the entrances of the building on October 8 of the current year.

“An investigation is underway under Article 240, Part II and Article 187, Part III of the Criminal Code of Georgia on the facts of a breach of safety regulations during construction or other works, and damage or destruction of property belonging to others, which results in loss of human life and grave consequences.”

Reportedly, Zaur Budatov did apply to the Public Registry for a permit to conduct his planned repair works, but he started the works prior to receiving said permit. Budatov manages a Batumi casino and had bought the flat in September.

According to local media outlet Batumelebi, the national public registry agency discovered a problem in Budatov’s paperwork on October 8, the day the building

To express their sorrow at the tragic loss of human life, citizens lit candles and brought flowers and toys to the fences erected in front of the ruins of the building.

Due to the tragedy in Batumi, the event planned to celebrate Tbilisoba (the Day of Tbilisi) this month was canceled, and the amount allocated for the festivities is to be transferred to a fund set up for the families of the victims.

“A tragedy that has united the whole country is a mutual pain for everyone.

Tbilisi is a city that has always shown an example of support in difficult times,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze noted.

“Even today, in these difficult times, Tbilisi stands by Batumi. Our team has decided that the event which was supposed to be held in a TV format to celebrate Tbilisoba will be canceled. The allocated money will be transferred to the Fund for Assistance to the Families of the Victims of the Tragedy in Batumi,” he said.

Monday October 11, was declared a Day of Mourning in Georgia, and national flags were lowered on buildings across the country.

“I express my deep sorrow over the tragedy in Batumi. My condolences go out to the family members and relatives of the victims,” Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said. “Together with them, the whole of Georgia mourns this horrible tragedy. The state will provide all relevant assistance to the victims of the incident.

“All persons whose guilt is revealed will be punished with the full force of the law. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already detained three people and the investigation is ongoing,” he added.

Unfortunately, such illegal constructions and repair works are a common problem in Batumi, Tbilisi and other locations throughout Georgia. Further, buildings designed and fast-built in Soviet times to last just 15-25 years still house thousands. The unnecessary deaths in Batumi last week have once again shone a spotlight on Georgia’s construction, maintenance and inspection failings. If neither citizens nor the state start to pay more attention to this issue, future tragedies will be unavoidable.

Prosecutor’s Office Charges 4 for Murder and Robbery of British Citizen

BY ANA DUMBADZE

T

he Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has charged four people with the fact of murder and robbery of a British citizen in Gori, and one person with the fact of not reporting a crime.

The investigative agency charged G.B, Z.F, G.K. and G.O. for the murder and robbery of British citizen, Thomas Kennedy on October 7.

Charges were also filed against 23-yearold Vasil Okropiridze for not reporting the crime.

“The investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed that on October 7, 2021 Z.F, G.K., G.O. and G.B. decided to rob British citizen, T.K., and told V.O about their plans, who refused to take part in the crime. On the same day, in Gori, near a railway station, at night, G.B., Z.F., G.K. And G.O. forcibly seized T.K.’s mobile phone and bank

Tom Kennedy. Source: Netgazeti

card. To cover up the crime, the defendants threw Kennedy, who was unconscious, into the River Mtkvari, as a result of which the latter died.

“After that, Z.F, G.K., G.O. and G.B. again informed V.O about the incident, who did not report this particularly serious crime

to law enforcement,” reads the statement released by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The law enforcers detained Z.F, G.K., G.O. and G.B. on October 10. They face 13 to 17 years in prison, while V.O. faces 3 to 7 years in prison if convicted.

The defendants allegedly robbed and

killed the 28-year-old British citizen, Thomas Kennedy, who was living in Georgia, after a confrontation occurred after they had drinks together in a cafe in Gori.

“The investigation established that on October 7 of the current year, the detainees were drinking alcohol in an underground passage in the town of Gori and were joined by a foreign citizen – Thomas Kennedy (DoB 1993). The defendants later moved together with him to a bar in Gori and continued to drink alcohol, during which a verbal confrontation took place between the currently detained persons and Kennedy. After the mentioned confrontation, the aforementioned individuals went to an area near to Mtkvari River, where Z.F., G.O., G.K. and G.B. physically assaulted Kennedy and threw him unconscious into the river to conceal evidence of the crime. The detainees fled the scene after committing the crime.

“The investigation also established that the detainee, Vasil Okropiridze was informed regarding the crime, although failed to inform the law enforcers.

“Kennedy’s body was washed ashore

by the Mtkvari River on October 8 of the current year, near the village of Kvakhvreli in Gori Municipality.

“As a result of complex operativeinvestigative and search activities, the law enforcers identified the persons involved in the crime and arrested them.

“The fact of premeditated murder committed by a group under aggravated circumstances and not reporting a grave crime is being investigated under Article 109, Part II, Sub-paragraph “E” and Article 376, Part II of the Criminal Code of Georgia,” reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

People this week collected 48,000 Euros through a GoFundMe page to help the family of Thomas Kennedy, to bring his body home.

"On Friday the 9th of October, our beautiful Tom was found in the Mtkvari River in Georgia. He died brutally and tragically at the hands of five evil men.

We are absolutely devastated," his family announced. "There are no words. Life will never be the same again without our beautiful talented boy."

NEWS

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

3

Corona Updates: Cases Shoot Up Again Regionwide, Reintroduction of Restrictions Expected dence of Covid-19 in Russia had increased 16% over the past week, and in some regions, the growth rate was more than 30%.

Russia has about 255,000 beds for Covid patients, of which about 235,000 are occupied, Murashko said, with 11% of Russia’s hospitalized Covid patients in a serious or critical condition “and practically all of them are patients who have not been vaccinated,” Murashko said, according to the TASS news agency.

TURKEY

BY ANA DUMBADZE

T

his week, newly detected cases of coronavirus have almost doubled in Georgia, with the accompanying death toll fluctuating, giving epidemiologists reason to express concern and start pointing at the reintroduction of restrictions if the numbers don’t decrease again soon.

Some say that Georgia is entering the fifth wave of the disease, although Health Minister Tamar Gabunia was quick to note the country “has not even come out of the 4th wave yet!” She added that “We have not yet observed an increase in the hospitalization rate, which is a promising sign.”

Yet, if such a trend continues, the schools and kindergartens which were opened on October 4 are at risk of closing again, leaving children to have to continue their studies online once more. 14 kindergartens and several schools in Tbilisi were already shut down this week due to detected cases of coronavirus. Parents who have to both work and support their children’s learning at home are naturally anxious, and call on the unvaccinated population to get a jab to prevent further restrictions.

Surprisingly, even considering such grave conditions, the vaccination rate countrywide remains extremely low, and is still on the decline. At this time, only about 30% of Georgians have chosen to get vaccinated, far below the desired 60%. Even a lottery dishing out daily and weekly cash prizes to vaccinated people was not motivation enough, and it seems the majority of Georgia’s population is avoiding vaccination for fear it will harm their health in the future, for religious views, or simply because of a lack of understanding and education on the matter.

As such, epidemiologists predict a very difficult November and December. They daily call on the population to adhere to safety regulations and get a jab, noting that, otherwise, we will lose many of our fellow citizens in the coming months due to the coronavirus being added to seasonal flu. As health official Amiran Gamkrelidze explained last week, this is being called Twindemic – when two diseases coincide with each other.

“It’s already cold, and we can soon expect other respiratory viruses to appear. At the end of October, the flu will start to spread, and a new term has already been created for it: Twindemic, for those two infections combined - Flu and Covid,” he stated.

THE BOOSTER VACCINE The Deputy Minister of Health of Georgia, Tamar Gabunia, stated this week that the Immunization Council supports the use of booster doses.

“The council supports the use of the booster dose 6 months after the second vaccination for people over the age of 50, for people of any age who have a chronic illness, as well as for high-risk professions such as medical staff and people living in closed-type institutions and those employed there,” Gabunia said.

Registration for a booster dose for risk group representatives is possible at various medical institutions across the country. Those planning to travel, study, or receive treatment abroad will also be able to apply for a booster shot, provided it comes at least three weeks after their last jab.

Additionally, the Pfizer jab is now available for Georgian children under 12 with chronic illnesses.

On Wednesday, the country woke up to 4837 new cases, 1586 recoveries, and 26 deaths, with 49,386 tests conducted. The Georgian capital recorded 1379 Covid-19 cases within 24 hours, followed by the Imereti region with 1028 cases, and Kakheti with 889.

On Thursday, it was reported that 4212 new cases of coronavirus had been recorded overnight, along with 1982 recoveries and 38 deaths. 52,620 tests were conducted. 1272 of those cases were detected in Tbilisi, Adjara - 134, Imereti - 899, Kvemo Kartli - 223, Shida Kartli - 250, Guria - 100, Samegrelo Zemo Svaneti - 401, Kakheti - 702, Mtskheta-Mtianeti - 99, Samtskhe-Javakheti - 99, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti - 33.

The daily test-positivity rate in Georgia stands at 8.0%, up from 7.21% over the last 14 days.

At this stage, there are 32,448 active cases of infection in the country.

THE SITUATION ABROAD THE UK On October 11, Georgia was removed from the British international travel regime’s “red list.”

47 countries and territories were removed from the list, meaning those traveling from Georgia to the UK will be able to enter the territory of England under the following conditions: In case of full vaccination (only with a vaccine recognized by the UK): Before departure, fill in the locator form for your whereabouts in the past 48 hours; Provide proof you have booked (and then taken) a “PCR” test on the 2nd day after arrival.

In case of incomplete vaccination: Before departure, take a PCR test within 72 hours before flying; Purchase a travel test package which includes booking PCR tests to be done on the 2nd and 8th day of self-isolation; Fill in the passenger locator form for your whereabouts in the prior 48 hours and indicate a 10-day self-isolation address. Upon arrival: 10-day self-isolation at the pre-specified address; Take a PCR test on the 2nd and 8th day of self-isolation.

With UK regulations, a person can only be considered fully vaccinated if they have received both doses of the vaccine produced by the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna.

14 days must have passed since taking the second dose of the vaccine.

The UK on Thursday reported 42,776 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours - the highest number since mid-July, government figures show. Another 136 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also recorded.

For comparison, 38,520 cases and 181 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported on Tuesday.

The number of coronavirus cases in Turkey is climbing almost daily, but an infectious diseases expert points to a new dire reality: an increasing number of children among COVID-19 patients.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has already brought attention to the fact that people under the age of 30 made up more than half of the total COVID-19 cases in Turkey, but associate professor Ümit Savasçı of Health Sciences University says the rise is evident among children “who have been confined to their homes for almost two years,” referring to the pandemic-related restrictions for children that were lifted only this summer, reports the Daily Sabah.

“They have no Vitamin D intake, they are sedentary, and their immunity system is naturally suppressed. Add this to them mingling with other children at school without precautions, they can easily be infected. Unfortunately, we have seen children ending up in intensive care in this period.

Patients below the age of 20 and with underlying diseases find themselves in intensive care within a few days of infection,” he told Demirören News Agency (DHA) Sunday.

Although the vaccination rate is up in Turkey, the pandemic has evolved into a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” according to experts.

The Delta variant, a more severe strain of the virus, is also contributing to the surge in the pandemic, especially among those ditching mandatory masks and social distancing rules after Turkey eased pandemic-related restrictions this summer.

On Tuesday, Georgia reported 4775 coronavirus cases, 1623 recoveries, and 37 deaths, with 47,723 tests conducted. Tbilisi recorded the highest number of 1359 Covid-19 cases, followed by the Imereti region with 1060 cases, and the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region with 493 cases.

Russia this week hit a grim new record in its Covid19 pandemic: On Tuesday, the country reported 28,190 new coronavirus cases and 973 deaths.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko delivered sharp warnings on the public health crisis on Tuesday, telling a cabinet meeting that that inci-

ARMENIA Armenia has run out of hospital beds as the number of new Covid-19 infections keeps growing in the country, health authorities report.

A Ministry of Health representative said the situation is tense, and hospitals are overcrowded, with 300 residents waiting for hospitalization across the country.

According to Romella Abovyan, the Head of the Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Department of the National Center for Disease Control, daily cases have increased by 50%, and the rate of infection is higher than one, which means the infection is spreading very fast.

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Rent - from $15/sq.m.

Struggling business owners and families separated

by Covid-19 restrictions rejoiced Wednesday after the US said it will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze.

Travel across land borders from Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to workers whose jobs are deemed essential. The new rules will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to enter the US regardless of the reason, starting in early November, when a similar easing of restrictions is set for air travel. By mid-January, even essential travelers seeking to enter the US, such as truck drivers, will need to be fully vaccinated.

NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES RUSSIA

The Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan issued a statement calling on certain categories of citizens of the country to be vaccinated with a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. This dose is optional and no changes are planned in the rules for obtaining a Covid passport with regards to it.

According to official information, as of October 10, 48.9% of the country’s total population had received one dose of the vaccine, while 41.1% of the population had received two.

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4

POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Why Did Iran-Azerbaijan Relations Become Strained?

Mikheil Saakashvili. Photo by Valentin Ogirenko / Reuters

The President Who Was Wanted OP-ED NUGZAR B. RUHADZE

S

peaking generally, I hate to see people locked up, although I’m sure some of them belong in a penal institution. The Misha I want to figure as the main character of this story recently found his most famous self in one such institution. The guy has served in two very important ranks: President of Georgia and Governor of Odessa, Ukraine. Oddly, and regrettably enough, he is now serving not in the role of a former president but as a regular inmate. Yes, as a regular one, no matter how special he might be on the whole! Why regrettably? Because it’s a bad thing that one of the few presidents of our country is doing time in a mundane reformatory.

Mikhail Saakashvili could not have thought even in his wildest imagination that, on delving into Wikipedia, he might find his name on the list of heads of state and government, who were later imprisoned, sandwiched between the two infamous names of Sa'dun Hammadi and Saddam Hussein, both embossed in history as Iraqi political felons.

Misha was wanted for quite a long time, while he happily trotted the globe and toiled away in countries other than Georgia, ensconced in the most comfortable armchairs in luxurious offices and being driven around in top-of-the-line chauffeured cars. It was a little strange that a person indicted and convicted on several counts in Georgia in-absentia felt himself as snug as a bug in a rug in the friendlyto-Georgia Ukraine. It was something that could have triggered a huge political scandal between the two nations, but somehow they managed to maintain mutual calm, friendship and cooperation. The bilateral diplomatic effort in this regard deserves our kudos, of course.

Misha is now sitting in the cooler, and not only that – he is on hunger strike.

The entire nation feels anxious and onedge about it, because this is, after all, the former head of state of the country.

He boasts both friends and adversaries of various caliber in the streets, on TV

screens and on the rostrums and podiums. Nobody needs that much headache, but the headache is right there, at the center of the nation’s structure of problems.

In his own day and term, from 2004 until 2013, Saakashvili did not sit just twiddling his thumbs: He was hyperactive, fully into business, and trying to get marked in history as a great leader. But at the same time, he was doing so much wrong that he finally wore away all his initial popularity and ultimately lost the elections. The majority of people decided they didn’t want his presidential services any more: Not only had he lost his good name, but the war with Russia too, and the lands the Georgian people had maintained with unbearable pains ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The acme of his downfall was the prison shots of cruel and unusual punishment of inmates, saying nothing of the bloody breakup of demonstrations and badly beaten fellow-citizens, one of them with a lethal finale. And the economic achievements that Misha was so proud of are now going through a professional scrutiny, with the conclusion that many of those successful results might become the subject of further fairer analysis.

As a matter of fact, any leader of any nation leaves a certain wake in the aftermath of his or her activity, and often the legacy has its light and dark sides. This might be true in the case of Misha’s presidency too. And it is also natural that his numerous friends want to boost his strong points, and the multitude of his opponents are inclined to put forward his weak points. But this is all very trivial and does not deserve serious excitement. What needs more of our attention is that someday in this country, we have to learn how to elect leaders who go down in history peacefully and honorably, so that their successors have no reason or desire to disparage their legacy or nurse the idea of their detention for former misdeeds. The concept of such a continuation of the nation’s story being possible is not completely ripe yet, but the hope is that we might master the ropes someday. As the saying goes – live and learn!

The section of the Armenian-Iranian highway that is controlled by Azerbaijan following the Second Karabakh War is marked in blue. The section of the possible corridor connecting Turkey-Nakhichevan-the rest of Azerbaijan on Armenian territory near the Iranian border is marked in red

ANALYSIS BY ZURAB BATIASHVILI FOR THE RONDELI BLOG

N

umerous conflicts have arisen in the Caucasus in recent decades, and today it seems that another new, this time Iranian-Azerbaijani, confrontation has matured in the region, one that will not be confined to these two countries alone.

The Iran-Azerbaijan relations, which have become increasingly strained in recent weeks, have seen Iranian military exercises of an unprecedented scale being carried out near the border between the two countries. Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey have in turn responded via military means, leaving many to wonder why Iran-Azerbaijan relations became tense, and why now.

The balance of power in the region has changed significantly since the Second Karabakh War, with Azerbaijan’s victory followed by the stirring up of TurkishAzerbaijani nationalist sentiments both in the Republic of Azerbaijan itself and in the north of Iran, where about 20 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live (while the population of Azerbaijan itself, according to official figures, is 10 million).

The most recent trigger was the arrest of two Iranian truck drivers by Azerbaijanis on a section of the Armenian-Iranian land route that the Azerbaijani side had regained control of after the second war in Karabakh. According to the Azerbaijani side, the drivers are involved in illegal trade with the separatist NagornoKarabakh. It should be noted, though, that this is the only road connecting Iran and Armenia, which Tehran views as one of the main transport arteries connecting the country to the Black Sea (and Europe), and which is a vital section of the North-South Corridor (Russia-Iran).

Moreover, official Baku and Ankara are requesting access to the road connecting Turkey-Nakhichevan-the rest of Azerbaijan through southern Armenia.

While the opening of these roads is

Syunik (Azerbaijani: Zangezur) Province of Armenia, which separates Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan

envisaged by the Russia-AzerbaijanArmenia peace agreement signed a year ago, the Armenian side has yet to agree to the request.

At the same time, there have been some suggestions in Azerbaijan (including at the highest levels) that the southern part of Armenia (which the Armenian side calls Syunik and the Azerbaijani side calls Zangezur) is a piece of old Azerbaijani territory which, via historical "misfortune," found itself within the boundaries of the neighboring country.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, went even further, saying that if Armenia did not voluntarily agree to the proposal to open the corridor, then Azerbaijan would do so itself by force.

The Turkish-Azerbaijani arc encircling Iran if the corridor is opened

Clearly, in the event of such a development, not only would the transport routes connecting northern Iran with Armenia, Georgia, Russia, the Black Sea and Europe be physically blocked, but, from Tehran's point of view, a single Turkish-Azerbaijani arc would thus encircle Iran, possibly further inflating nationalist attitudes among Azerbaijanis living in northern Iran.

In addition, Tehran is irritated by the frequent conducting of joint TurkishAzerbaijani military exercises. Among them, particularly painful were TurkishAzerbaijani naval exercises in the Caspian Sea and the Turkish-AzerbaijaniPakistani ground exercises near Karabakh.

The Israeli factor further aggravates relations between Tehran and Baku. It is known that Israeli-made drones were actively involved in the Second Karabakh War, and, in Iran, there is th widely held belief that Israeli military units are stationed on the territory of Azerbaijan, an accusation that was openly made by Official Tehran a few days ago. On the other hand, Israel suspects that Iran will soon have nuclear weapons, and experts are increasingly talking about a possible Israeli attack on Iran in order to eliminate Tehran’s chances of developing such weapons.

It was these events that Iran assessed as a direct threat against it and led to its decision to hold a military exercise of unprecedented scale near the Azerbaijani border, which involved four Iranian divisions with a total of 50,000 Iranian soldiers.

The name of the Iranian exercise itself is also symbolic - Tehran named it the "Conquerors of Khaybar." Khaybar is a city in Saudi Arabia where Muhammad defeated the Jews in 628 and which is considered a symbol of Muslim victory

over the Jews. In this controversy, too, Tehran accuses Baku of allying with Israel and acting jointly against Iran.

The Iran-Azerbaijan confrontation was soon reflected on social media, where explicit elements of information warfare, featuring historical and nationalist narratives, were spread.

The Azerbaijani nationalist narrative is "South Azerbaijan is not Iran!"

The Iranian nationalist narrative is "Let's make Azerbaijan part of Iran again!", with many in Iran believing that the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan was taken by Russia 200 years ago, and that it is time to "return" it as the 32nd province of Iran.

Of course, Azerbaijan is not alone in this controversy; it has Turkey’s unambiguous support, and, most likely, that of Israel as well, although these are topics for a separate discussion.

The Iran-Azerbaijan confrontation has its own history, but in this case, the new wave of confrontation was precipitated by a new balance of power formed after the Second Karabakh War. Tehran felt that its positions were weakening, in its estimation leading to an increased level of threat. The close ties between Azerbaijan-Israel and Azerbaijan-Turkey are unacceptable for Tehran, as is the weakening of Armenia's position in the region, which is clearly noticeable after the Second Karabakh War. This standoff does not mean that there will automatically be a direct military confrontation, however, the issue is long-term in nature and this problem can be expected to reemerge many times in this region. This tension shows once again how fragile peace and stability is in the Caucasus, where strong regional actors closely monitor ongoing events and react quickly.

Russia has not yet stated its position on the controversy. However, it is clear that Moscow is closely monitoring the developments and, in all likelihood, believes that the time for their response has not yet come (recall, the Kremlin acted similarly during the Second Karabakh War, where it deliberately held off for a long time). The emergence of a new hotbed of tension in the Caucasus is not in Georgia's interests. Clearly, peace and stability are. However, the capabilities and tools of Official Tbilisi to influence current events are limited.

Originally published on the Rondeli Blog.

An example of the Azerbaijani narrative

An example of the Iranian narrative

POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

5

Does ISIS still Pose a Threat to the Region?

Islamic Fighters stage a motorized rally in Syria during the height of their command of the region in 2015. The majority of the fighters would go on to be eliminated in a joint NATO-Iraq offensive in the coming years.

Source: Militant website via AP

BY MICHAEL GODWIN

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any of the attacks, kidnappings and murders the Islamic State organizations have been infamous for have largely abated. Through a combined NATO, Iraqi, and Kurdish offensive, their former strength has been reduced to a scattering of small camps and safe houses in rural Syria and Iraq. However, forces deployed in the area are still finding themselves in the crosshairs of the remaining fighters. Since much of the attention has shifted away from the battlefield, this has allowed for a steady stream of attacks on both security forces and civilians.

Georgia has largely stayed safe from the extremist threat, with a comparatively small number of citizens being involved. Despite this, there have been arrests of individuals seeking membership and training in the terrorist organization. In addition, reports during the height of the Syrian and Iraqi conflict found several Georgian citizens within the ranks of the captured and killed fighters. With the recent arrest of five suspected recruits in eastern Georgia, it brings the threat of the terror army back into the spotlight again.

The terrorist organization was reported to have attracted over 40,000 recruits from 120 different countries. Through its funding programs of illicit oil sales, smuggling, looting, and extortion, they were alleged to be reaping over $80 million per month at their 2015 height. Once the so-called Islamic State came crumbling down, many of the foreign recruits that had survived were left to find their own way back to their homelands. The homelands of these individuals were largely split into two camps; repatriation and prosecution, or outright refusal.

However, the majority of the approximately 30 Georgian volunteer fighters have elected to remain in Iraq or Syria.

Georgia being a low-priority target in terms of value, the lack of any real terror network established in the nation, and the heavy-handed repercussions that await them at the border have seemingly

discouraged them from returning. Despite these factors, not all have made their new home in the Middle East. Akhmed Chatayev, who fought in Syria against the coalition, is one notable example of one that returned to Georgia only to die in a firefight with police special response teams in 2017.

Although Chatayev was not Georgian himself (being Chechen), he was a leader in one of the many Chechen Muslim extremist groups in the North Caucasus.

This reveals another incentive for returning fighters to find themselves a home in Georgia. With the country being a key gateway to the Southern Russian region, it has been a travel route for centuries.

The terrorist threat in Chechnya and Dagestan has plagued Russian internal security forces for decades, even leading them to attempt to blame Georgia for housing them. As a result, it is highly doubtful these returning fighters will attempt to enter Russia, lest they be arrested immediately.

This incident, as well as several others in the Pankisi and Lopota areas, has highlighted the region as a potential hideout. In addition, its low-profile location could allow it to become the next petri dish for extremist fighters looking to evade capture or death. These groups, often working under the name Islamic State - Caucasus Province (IS-CP), operate according to their violent ideology and in much the same ways as their predecessor, the Caucasus Emirate.

While their primary target is often Russia in their push for North Caucasian independence, the natural link between like-minded groups on both sides of the mountain pass is cause for concern. In the wake of the 2015 rise of the Islamic State in Syria, the confederation of insurgent groups in the region openly aligned themselves with their new leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. By supplying personnel and resources to the fight in Syria and Iraq, they were also able to grow their own influence, attracting in-house talent in the region.

However, after the fall of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, their influence waned, and the clashes with Russian security forces further weakened them, as leadership was either apprehended or killed. In addition, Georgia found itself

dealing with their multiple associated factions, such as the aforementioned Lopota incident in 2012. This incident, leading to the death of two members of the police special operations group and one Georgian Special Operations Forces medic, underlined these subversive operations.

In the aftermath of the firefight that took place, multiple extremist organizations in the North Caucasus lashed out at Georgia. They published multiple grievances, including claims that Georgia was “betraying and killing the brave sons of the Caucasus” in favor of a Putinist agenda. Russia painted the incident as proof that Georgia was in fact harboring terrorists, and even went so far as to postulate that Georgia was training them as well.

Regardless of the true allegiance of the dead fighters, it is clear that there exist separatist and non-state organizations in the region whose goals are perpendicular with those of the nation. While these organizations may title themselves with various labels, they generally fall under the larger IS-CP banner, similar to sister organizations in the Philippines, across Africa, and what is now brewing in Afghanistan. Their presence in the South Caucasus has yet to rise to the level of any of these regions, however, the ground is not infertile for this type of ideology to spread.

Continued accruement of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance should be employed. These groups will use any opportunity, such as political division or extreme nationalism, to draw new

members. These individuals, disillusioned by the warped vision of the terror group, will easily fall into their trap. As with many things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Georgia has already sacrificed several military and police service members in its bid for safety against the terrorist threat, both at home and abroad.

The mainstream elements of the Islamic State in the Middle East may have mostly withered and fallen from the headlines, but their followers are still festering in other corners of the world.

The so-called “ISIS'' threat is still a threat. Georgia is not absolved of its duty in combating this group, and its many offshoots, and it’s focus on the internal security situation is commendable, but not complete.

Scorch marks and bullet impacts outside of the rented flat where Akhmed Chatayev and his four fighters fought with Georgian security forces in the Isani district of Tbilisi in 2017. Source: Giorgi Abdaladze/Facebook

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POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Roll Out the Euro in Georgia as a Tool for its Peaceful Unification with Europe impact for every single economic transaction done in and with currency. Investment, buying, selling, saving and planning life and future is done in currency, and once done in the Euro, that is hard to reverse and very clear in which world Georgian wants to and will live: in the European World, the American-backed Free World, and not the Russian World.

The Georgian dream – joining the West – starts with the Euro.

OP-ED BY GUNTER FEHLINGER, PRESIDENT OF EUROPEANS FOR TAX REFORM*

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t is time for Georgia to take on the Euro as currency to show it wants to be an EU Member, to bypass resistance to Georgia’s EU Membership inside the EU, and to make the future of Georgia in NATO and the EU clear to all inside and outside the country. The Euro as a firm currency fundament is better economics than the constantly declining Lari.

THE EURO CAN BE DONE FAST AND FLEXIBLY

STUCK IN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP – A DEADEND STREET FOR GEORGIA EU Council President Charles Michel visited Batumi to witness the formation of the EU Accession Trio, the official pre-EU accession alliance of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia, signed by the three presidents of the three Eastern European countries whose EU future is sadly rejected by the EU; three pro-European countries stuck in the failed Eastern Partnership, a parking place for European nations the EU does not know what to do with, and for whose destiny Russia feels ownership over. As the EU is not ready to grant EU Potential Candidate Status to Georgia, Georgia must adopt the Euro to bypass the deadlock.

THE EURO FOR GEORGIA TO BACK UP THE APRIL 19 AGREEMENT Charles Michel's presence in Batumi was too much for Russia, so the excellent 19th April agreement was canceled the following week in July, and Michel’s only success in his two years of EU Council Presidency evaporated, as he had nothing to offer for Georgia to back him up and make the deal stick, contrary to the Przino Agreement negotiated by Christian Danielsson for a similar crisis in Macedonia in 2015, where the USA and EU had NATO Membership to offer and the start of the EU Candidate Status. The USA, NATO and EU delivered for Macedonia, and Macedonia got a settlement with Greece, joined NATO in 2020, and is now an EU Candidate Country. But, for Georgia, Christian Danielsson, negotiating for Charles Michel, had nothing to offer to focus minds and make the deal stick. No NATO future. No EU future. No EU Potential Candidate Status, No CEFTA or RCC Membership. Charles Michel sent Danielsson empty handed. A bit here and there, but nothing to bind all sides and the public into a lasting consensus for Western integration backed up by real deliverables. The Euro, for Georgia, is the tool for a European consensus. The currency is what everybody uses daily, for all economic transactions; buying selling, saving and investment, and what stronger symbol, highly visible, can there be for the European future of Georgia?

Gunter Fehlinger is the President of Europeans for Tax Reform

NATO AND EU MEMBER GEORGIA – YES, BUT THE EURO FIRST NATO Membership based on the BRD 1955 model would be possible, but both NATO and Georgia seem unready for the next step towards membershipNATO. Due to concerns about Russia, Georgia does not want to change its approach to reunification. EU Potential Candidacy is stuck due to similar concerns by Western EU Members. And there is no appetite in Brussels to import the next Cyprus style crisis, and no Greece around in the EU to impose Georgia on a reluctant Western Europe.

Not even the Balkans’ back door via CEFTA and RCC is being offered to Georgia. So, we are stuck and Georgia is lost?

The EU could back the European consensus up with a concrete offer – the Euro for Georgia. The Georgian Lari, in relation to the USD, was 1.25 in 1996 and is now at 3.45 today. It is not a disaster record compared to Belarus, Serbia, or Ukraine, but it is far from stellar. Interest rates are sky high for SMEs and even war-torn Kosovo, which was allowed to adopt the Euro in 2002, has reached $4,200 GDP per capita, the same as reform superstar Georgia. The $16 bil-

lion GDP of Georgia won't impress the 13 trillion Eurozone much, though.

The Euro for Georgia will make a major impact on economic and trade integration of the DCFTA. But most of all, using the Euro will make a major difference for consumers, citizens, voters and taxpayers in Georgia, making it very clear for everybody where Georgia wants to belong and where Georgia’s future lies: inside NATO and the EU, once ready for political integration, but clearly inside the European trading, currency, and value system.

REVERSE ENGINEERING EU ENLARGEMENT – START WITH CURRENCY ADOPTION In the theory of economic integration, integration anyhow starts with a Free Trade Agreement, and Georgia already has the DCFTA. Then add a Customs Union, as the EU has with Turkey, then the EU Internal Market, then the Currency Union and then the Political Union into which the EU is gradually developing. Georgia’s adopting the Euro is one of the logical next steps, as is joining the CEFTA and concluding an EU Georgia Customs Union similar to what the EU has with Turkey. But the Euro obviously has the bigger symbolic and visibility

Lawyer: Mikheil Saakashvili’s Condition Worsening due to Hunger Strike

BY ANA DUMBADZE

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ikheil Saakashvili’s lawyer, Beka Basilaia, says the condition of the former president of Georgia in Rustavi Prison is worsening due to his hunger strike.

“Saakashvili’s hunger strike is entering a very difficult phase. We can clearly see the consequences, he has problems with movement and his legs are swollen,” the lawyer said after visiting

Saakashvili in prison.

According to Basilaia, Mikheil Saakashvili’s hunger strike will lead to further deterioration in health and today he is already facing problems.

“It is important to give Saakashvili’s personal doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze the opportunity to visit him, which is vital.

The personal doctor knows best what he may need,” the lawyer added.

Despite the deterioration of his health, Saakashvili says he will not stop the hunger strike. As he says in an appeal, which was introduced to the public by lawyer Dimitri Sadzaglishvili, the rally scheduled for October 14 on Rustaveli

Avenue should be large-scale. In the appeal, the former president notes that the hunger strike is “one of the tools of his struggle.”

Mikheil Saakashvili has been on hunger strike as a form of protest against the current political regime in Georgia since the day of his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1. His party members and supporters are planning to gather on Rustaveli Avenue on October 14 and organize a rally demanding his release, as they believe that he is a political prisoner of the ruling party Georgian Dream and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Unlike the complicated EU accession negotiation and high-stake defense obligation of unclear borders contested by Russia, the Euro can be done quickly. At the push of a button by the National Bank of Georgia, the highly advanced digital payment system can be transferred to the Euro. Contrary to EU and NATO membership, which requires the ratification of each single 27 EU and 30 NATO Members, the unilateral adoption of the Euro needs no consent of the EU Council or the ECB- just a decision from the Georgian Parliament and Government is enough. The support of one of the central banks of the Eurozone, let’s say Estonia, will help, as will passive support to block some potential angry reaction from Brussels or Frankfurt, possibly from Poland and Slovakia, while Lithuania and Latvia will back Georgia in Brussels, as Austria and Germany helped Montenegro and Kosovo to float the Euro in 2002. A measure opposed by many but so successful for Montenegro and Kosovo, but the precedent is set, so let’s do the same for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, and, please, Georgia, lead Europe on that.

THE EURO DOES NOT REPLACE EU OR NATO MEMBERSHIP, BUT PAVES THE ROAD Sure, the Euro doesn’t replace full political membership in the EU and NATO, but it is a powerful next step, widely visible inside and outside Georgia, and nobody can misunderstand the symbolic significance. And the Euro as currency for Georgia will further intensify and deepen EU-Georgia economic integration and trade and investment links with the EU, and so will accelerate EU membership potential later in the 2020s. EU and NATO Member Georgia will seem so logical; the argument can be made so plausible. “We even have the Euro as currency, so why not join fully in the Political Union, as we are already fully aligned with EU policy and regulation in all aspects, we even have the Euro, so why not allow our politicians to sit, speak and vote in the EU Council, Commission and Parliament?”

RELAUNCHING THE 19TH APRIL AGREEMENT INTO A EUROPEAN PACT FOR GEORGIA BASED ON THE EURO The current escalation of the ongoing

The Euro, as currency for Georgia, as a symbol of its European future, will have a big enough impact to make the next EU brokered agreement stick crisis will require a major new EU mediation effort – this time better coordinated with the USA. Let’s not forget that the whole crisis started on June 20, 2019, with the provocation of Sergei Gavrilov’s visit, a Communist MP of Russia, during the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodox Countries, visiting the Parliament of Georgia and taking the Chair the Speaker, speaking in Russian, claiming brotherhood between Georgia and Russian after having voted for Abkhazian Independence in the Russian Duma the week prior. All events since then, the jail term for the opposition leader Nika Melia, the protest against the 2020 elections, the violence and clashes leading to the 19th April EU brokered agreement, are the result of that Russian provocation and are clearly related to the Russian roll-back efforts in their former colonial empire.

THE CURRENT POLITICAL ESCALATION WILL REQUIRE A SECOND EU MEDIATION EFFORT Now, with the elections done and the jailing of the former President, clearly there is a need for another EU effort to mediate. What can the EU, backed up by the US, do to make the second effort stick, and not get blocked by a 3rd Russian intervention against it? The Euro, as currency for Georgia, will have a big enough impact on everybody, a symbol of the European future and, yes, that is hard to reverse, actually irreversible, and a big enough thing to make the next EU brokered agreement stick. So, better get ready for the next crisis in Georgia and prepare to roll out the Euro in Georgia as a tool for its peaceful unification with Europe. *Gunter Fehlinger is the President of Europeans for Tax Reform, ETR, an Austrian economist from Vienna, Austria, and Chair of the Austrian Committee for European Ukraine

BUSINESS

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

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The EU and CENN Award Grants to Young Social and Green Entrepreneurs from Georgia and Armenia

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n October 8, 2021, the EUsupported Caucasus Social Innovation Grant Competition award ceremony took place at Rooms Hotel Tbilisi. This competition was held within the framework of the EU-funded project “EU4Youth: Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) for Green Growth.” The Grant Competition awards grants to individuals who have built social enterprises with strong social and environmental missions, as well as have a strong sustainable business model. Within the the project, there was a total of three social innovation competitions, which has supported 27 grantees in Georgia and Armenia.

Representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia attended the award ceremony. "The green and social component is very important for the European Union” highlighted Nino Samvelidze, Youth Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, during her welcoming remarks. She expanded by saying, “the main priorities of this EU program are to ensure the employment of young people, to develop their entrepreneurial skills and reach the most vulnerable groups. And I can confidently say that this project implemented by CENN fully covers all three of these priorities.”

During the ceremony, Ms. Samvelidze was able to talk to the grant winners: “I had the opportunity to talk to some of the winning entrepreneurs and I'm very happy that with our help, these young entrepreneurs have been able to achieve their goals.” Moreover, Ms. Samvelidze noted that she strongly believes that, with the help of CENN, the priorities of the EU can be realized.

Nana Janashia, CENN Executive Director, thanked the EU delegation and noted that the spark of motivation seen in youth was completely different than what CENN has seen in other interest groups in other projects. Ms. Janashia highlighted that it is often difficult to start an initiative, especially in an environment where legislation is not very supportive of the development of social

enterprises, but noted that, with this program and additional funding, they will have more opportunities. “We want to give young people a spark and opportunity to grow,” she said.

Ms. Janashia emphasized, "at CENN, we always strive to include all types of minorities. This is not just a demand of the EU, it is a demand of a progressive

society, to involve as many marginalized groups in your activities as possible.”

Iza Bekauri, KRDF Director, and Nune Sarukhanyan, President of Green Lane NGO in Armenia, also delivered speeches at the award ceremony, congratulating the young people winning the Grant Competition. Moreover, Mariam Khergiani, CENN Project Manager, introduced the details of the project: "the aim of our project is to increase the readiness of young people for social entrepreneurship in Georgia and Armenia. We cover three municipalities in Georgia, namely Gori, Akhmeta, and Ninotsminda.”

“In Armenia, the Shirak, Lori, and Tavush regions were selected because these regions are vulnerable, there is a high rate of poverty and unemployment, and it is in such regions that it is important to create youth start-ups for sustainability."

One of the winners of the Caucasus Social Innovation Grant Competition was Avtandil Chikadze, founder of the wood and metal workshop ‘Mende’ in Akhmeta.

"We have 14 years of experience. For 14 years, we have only created drawings and now, with the help of CENN, we have the opportunity to bring these drawings into reality,” said Iza Legashvili, Mende's co-founder. “Our main goal is to take care of the environment and give a new life to the waste that actually exists in the form of wood.

Youth employment is also a huge challenge in the regions, and we want to share our knowledge and experience with them. We are currently employing two young people.”

Giorgi Badashvili and Guri Devidze have established an innovative greenhouse and grow black tomatoes. “Our

priority is not to have any negative affect on the environment. We have an energyefficient stove, we compost and we will soon have solar energy. Our social mission is to employ local young people, representatives of vulnerable groups, and we have already selected two ladies,” Badashvili told us.

Another winner, Keti Kvachantiradze, is the founder of Bamane. She used to have a sewing shop, and now sews sleeping bags for babies using leftover fabric waste from sewing.

"We are employing people in the region, and are planning to expand the enterprise to employ even more,” she said.

Kvachantiradze expanded by saying, “it is also important that our enterprise is located in the village of Karaleti, just a few kilometres from a Russian base. Our goal is to create a resilient community in such villages so they do not get empty, and young people will be able to find employment and realize their potential locally.”

After the award ceremony, a digital platform called "Idea Bank" was presented. Idea Bank is the first social and green entrepreneurship platform connecting young entrepreneurs from Armenia and Georgia with potential investors. The main goal of the portal

is that the project beneficiaries will have more publicity and be better able to find investors for their projects. During the presentation of the Idea Bank, CENN noted that there are a lot of interesting ideas that lack funding. The platform provides the young creators of social and green ideas a portal for new opportunities; this is a first for Armenia and Georgia.

The EU-funded enterprises from Georgia and Armenia cover sectors such as manufacturing and services. These enterprises focus on sustainable waste management, ecotourism, agriculture, eco-manufacturing, healthcare and many more. By the end of 2022, the funded enterprises will ensure the implementation of environmental and social missions, including empowering young people through business, employment, and contributing to solving social and environmental challenges.

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SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Why Improving the Primary Healthcare System in Georgia Matters municipality. “Currently, we are undergoing the module about arterial hypertension. I’m a family doctor, responsible for three districts of the village, 1600 people in total. Seasonal variability in blood pressure is a common problem for numerous patients here and new approaches and standards are very important for my work.”

Project experts are also working on creating a system for improving the quality of PHC services and facility-level performance management through intensive clinical training and supportive supervision of ambulatories’ medical personnel.

BY NINA KOPALEISHVILI – PR AND COMMUNICATION OFFICER, CARITAS CZECH REPUBLIC IN GEORGIA

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caling up primary healthcare (PHC) interventions across low and middle-income countries could save 60 million lives and increase average life expectancy by 3.7 years by 2030. Caritas Czech Republic actively works to improve the quality of primary healthcare (PHC) services in Georgia and provide it with comprehensive IT solutions.

COMPREHENSIVE IT SOLUTIONS TO PHC

PHC’S ROLE IN A STRONG HEALTH CARE It is scientifically proven that PHC is the most inclusive, equitable, cost-effective, and efficient approach to enhance people’s physical and mental health, as well as social well-being. An international study comparing the strength of primary care in 13 high-income countries found that strong primary care led to improved population health and lower health expenditure (WHO).

Having qualified medical personnel and quality standards in PHC is a cornerstone in a strong healthcare system.

Timely visits to family doctors that may avert citizens from paying for further expensive medical services and prevent them from potential complications in their health condition also plays a vital role in strengthening the whole system.

Within the Czech Development Agencysupported project, Caritas Czech Republic works to strengthen the primary healthcare system in Georgia through the introduction of improved medical guidelines for family doctors, the devel-

opment of countrywide comprehensive IT solutions, and updating qualification standards/requirements for PHC professionals.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVED MEDICAL GUIDELINES A clinical protocol is a medical guideline – a document consisting of best practices for managing a particular medical condition, which includes a treatment plan founded on evidence-based strategies and consensus statements in the field.

Caritas Czech Republic has been asked to develop clinical practice guidelines and protocols and pilot them at primary healthcare facilities (in the municipalities of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti) based on the clinical topics selected jointly with the

Ministry of Health of Georgia.

At this stage, the Ministry of Health of Georgia has approved six out of 10 developed clinical protocols. Based on those documents, Caritas Czech Republic experts have already started to train doctors and nurses in the Dusheti Municipality.

"Over the next two years, we will provide rural doctors with the most up-todate and evidence-based practice from the world clinical practice. This will guarantee that a patient in a rural ambulatory receives the same quality of service as a citizen in the best clinic in the capital," says Nato Shengelia, a family doctor and Caritas Czech Republic expert.

"We have been engaged in training based on the improved protocols since June 2021,” says Lamara Paghava, a family doctor in Choporti village, Dusheti

One of the core challenges to improving PHC is digitalization of medical services and health systems. Compared to manual registration, electronic medical records are characterized by much greater accuracy and a higher proportion of correct information. Besides, this practice requires less time and finances.

Caritas Czech Republic is working to create a unified and standardized e-management information system. In addition, it will introduce countrywide e-queue management, telemedicine, and e–referral management systems to the Georgian healthcare system.

"A unified medical record system will facilitate the collection of patient information at the PHC level and contribute to informed medical decisions,” says Marina Shikhashvili, an expert in family medicine and Caritas Czech Republic project expert. “In addition, a unified e-queue management system is a very convenient tool for receiving medical services in one space. A unified electronic information system also created

within the project will be the most important tool for those clinics which do not have internal electronic systems for data-collection.”

“PHC has a “gatekeeping” function in the whole healthcare system, the main purpose of which is ensuring that a majority of patients receive basic medical services at the primary level and, consequently, the next levels of the health care are not overloaded,” says Rusudan Chkhubianishvili, Caritas Czech Republic project manager.

CCR CONTRIBUTING TO GEORGIA’S HEALTHCARE Within the Czech Development Agency supported project, Caritas Czech Republic carries out activities in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Georgia and the Emergency Situation Coordination and Urgent Assistance Center (ESCUAC). The project will ultimately benefit the whole of Georgia, as the results of all deliverables will be handed over to the Ministry.

Currently, the project is being piloted in the selected municipalities of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti regions. At the same time, the project continues to enhance the system of quality measurement and improvement at five pilot medical facilities in Tbilisi as part of Phase I. In total, 46 primary medical facilities will be included in the project.

Nick Beresford, New UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

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ne of the great privileges of working for the UN is you get to live and work in some wonderful places, and you get to know some amazing people. Georgia has transformed itself so fast over a few years into a democratic state, creating growth, lowering poverty and heading towards a prosperous inclusive future. Can that trajectory be maintained? The UNDP works to strengthen democratic govern-

Deepening and strengthening democratic governance, respect for human rights, equality and the rule of law are essential to ensure Georgia does not stall on its development journey

ance, protect human rights, resolve conflicts and realize sustainable development goals. In Georgia, I get the sense that there is everything to play for, and so I could not look for a more engaging and I hope rewarding place to live and work.

– says Nick Beresford, the new UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia.

Nick Beresford is a development professional with over 20 years of experience with the United Nations. He was appointed as UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia in September, prior to which he served in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Somalia and East Timor, as well as in the UN headquarters in New York (USA). He holds a Master of Science in Development Economics from Sussex University and degrees in audit and accountancy and English literature.

GEORGIA TODAY spoke to him to find out what his impressions are of the country, and where he sees room for the kind of improvements the UNDP excels at facilitating.

“Georgia is strikingly beautiful,” he tells us. “The city of Tbilisi is unique.

History, culture and art are everywhere.

The people are exceptionally warm and friendly. As a guest, you are really made to feel welcome. Georgian cuisine is a sensation, and they literally invented wine. As first impressions go, this one is very hard to beat!”

THIS IS A CHALLENGING TIME FOR MOST COUNTRIES. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MAIN PRIORITIES FOR GEORGIA TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC RECOVERY? The health impact of COVID cannot be separated from the economic: we need to get the “R” number, the rate of infection, under 1 and moving towards zero.

The science is crystal clear: we all need to get vaccinated. And keep using masks,

washing hands and social distancing. As people become confident to return to work, shops and markets, so the real economy for working people can pick up.

On the social and economic side, we have learned a lot in a short time through COVID. More than 120 countries around the world introduced new social protection schemes, including here in Georgia. Social protection builds resilience so more people are kept out of poverty and in the working economy. Expanding universal health care, another very welcome policy seen in Georgia, strengthens human capital, reduces the burden of ill health and so adds to economic growth. Just as we can’t separate the health responses from the economic response, they are complements, not alternatives, so we need to invest in people to make growth that is stronger, locked in for the long term, and shared widely, not just accruing to the wealthy.

WHAT HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED AS THE MAIN GOALS FOR THE UNDP IN GEORGIA IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE? I would list four priority areas. The first rounds of local elections have just ended with a higher turnout than in previous years. I’m glad UNDP and others supported programs to encourage young voters to participate and to increase women’s engagement in decision-making. Deepening and strengthening democratic governance, respect for human rights, equality and the rule of law are essential to ensure Georgia does not stall on its development journey.

We have an opportunity here, as in many countries, for an economic recovery that emphasizes green growth. This is about protecting our health, our environment and planetary wellbeing, but it’s also about

jobs. Green growth investments, dollar for dollar, bring high economic multipliers and create more jobs – and ones that take us to higher skills too.

As we cope with the pandemic, we can see that social protection investments in people have been essential to help people rise to their full potential and also to strengthen social solidarity. Georgia has come a long way in reducing poverty, now at 21.3%, and we need to keep that momentum to end poverty by 2030. When people escape poverty, they don’t just realize their human right to a life with dignity, they start to contribute to the wider economy, and this is something that benefits everyone.

Finally, I would note that many communities, including internally displaced persons, still suffer the impacts of past conflict. We must invest in these communities to ensure no-one is left behind.

Confidence building measures that bring communities together can set the basis for finding ways for lasting and peaceful resolutions.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU EXPECT, AND HOW CAN/ WILL THESE BE OVERCOME? Development agencies are often good at producing technical solutions on paper, but sometimes less impressive when it comes to seeing them into action. We need a sharper focus on the political landscape: the incentives that drive our partners in government, civil society and the private sector. If we can listen more carefully to these, we can make better choices on which doors to push and which ones are perhaps shut tight. The point is to work in partnership with government, civil society, and other development partners to find a pathway ahead so we can make real systemic change. That’s how, on a good day!, we can move bright policy ideas into real development impact.

SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

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AHF Georgia Joins Global Vaccine Access Campaign “Vaccinate Our World” and powerful countries bought lot of vaccines and a large part of the population is already vaccinated, in many lowincome countries, only small groups of people are vaccinated and some countries have no access to the vaccine at all. Vaccines must be fairly distributed to all countries: if there is one nation with Covid-19 and no vaccine access, then all countries are in danger. Availability of the vaccine was a big challenge for Georgia until recently, but now a considerable quantity of the vaccine has entered the country. Therefore, the topic is no longer as relevant in Georgia as in other countries. Nevertheless, Georgia is joining the campaign, because it’s critical that world leaders do more to ensure that all countries have the requisite vaccines to ‘Vaccinate Our World’ and end the pandemic. This includes demanding that vaccine makers share their recipes to boost worldwide production, and ensuring international cooperation on all matters of global public health, particularly pandemics.”

“The ‘VOW’ performance in Tbilisi and other cities across Europe are vital for sending a wake-up call to EU and G20 leaders ahead of their Rome Summit – we will not sit idle while billions of people worldwide go without vaccines!” said AHF Europe Bureau Chief Zoya Shabarova. “Wealthy countries have secured enough vaccines for their citizens, some of which have enough to vaccinate their populations multiple times over. It’s now time for those leaders to pay it forward and show the same care and concern to people in Africa and other hard-hit regions struggling to get lifesaving vaccines and recover from the pandemic. Enough is enough – the G20 must Vaccinate Our World!”

In order to achieve the global campaign “Vaccinate Our World” goals, the world must take several important steps:

ENSURE THERE IS SUFFICIENT FUNDING FOR VACCINE PROCUREMENT. $100 billion must be pledged to secure enough vaccines to inoculate the entire world. Leaders from the G20 and global financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, must VOW to step up their contributions immediately.

BOOST VACCINE PRODUCTION CAPACITY WORLDWIDE TO 7 BILLION. Even with current vaccine production ramped up to maximum levels, vaccine manufacturers are still unable to meet the demand for lifesaving Covid-19 doses. If the world is to fight this and future pandemics, vaccine production must be increased across every continent. A handful of pharmaceutical companies simply cannot be relied upon to vaccinate the entire world.

Continued from page 1 AHF Georgia also joins the above campaign with social media activities and a “Die - in Action” performance.

The area around the German Embassy in Tbilisi has been selected for this purpose, as the aim of the campaign is to call on vaccine manufacturers to have access worldwide. Germany is one of the major developers / producers of Covid-19 vaccines and, at the same time,

a member of the G20. It’s support for the goal of this campaign plays an important role in the world.

Wealthy nations have drawn global criticism for hoarding vaccines and not urging pharmaceutical companies to share their know-how for vaccine research and development funded primarily by taxpayers. As of early October, 3.6 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered globally, with 78% of those going to people in high- and

upper-middle-income countries. Less than 7% of the 1.3 billion people on the African continent have received even one dose. The discrepancy is worse for low-income countries, where less than 1% of people have gotten a shot.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to the world. The problem of access to vaccines is acute, especially in third-tier, poorer countries,” said Nino Khetaguri, Country Program Manager for AHF Georgia. “While large

VACCINE PATENTS MUST BE WAIVED TO ALLOW FOR THE RAPID SCALEUP OF PRODUCTION. Covid-19 vaccines are primarily funded by taxpayers, not pharmaceutical companies. We must call for all vaccine manufacturers to openly share their technology and intellectual property – and for governments to ensure Covid19 vaccines are declared a public good.

We can look at past examples, such as

the AIDS epidemic, and save the world as we did with antiretroviral medicines for HIV.

ENSURE TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION SHARING, PARTICULARLY DURING GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. We must advocate for an enforceable mandate to ensure transparency and accountability for all countries and organizations when it comes to global public health.

The bulk of vaccine procurements have been accomplished through closed-door deals between individual governments and drug companies where little information is released on the details of the agreements, which drives up vaccine costs.

During this and any pandemic, all vaccine agreements should be made public to encourage increased cooperation and to ensure all countries are able to access affordable medicines and vaccines.

ADVOCATE FOR GREATER INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AS THE DRIVING FORCE FOR ENDING THE PANDEMIC. Many nations, including Canada, the US, UK and those in the European Union have purchased enough vaccines to vaccinate their populations multiple times over. With a worldwide shortage, these countries must be compelled to share their surplus vaccine stockpiles. At a time when the majority of the world has little access to vaccines, nations should establish a framework to ensure the rest of the world can also be protected. If one country isn’t safe from Covid-19, none of us are safe.

“VOW” activists organized recent protests targeting the headquarters of US-based Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to demand that they halt their ‘pandemic profiteering’ and share their know-how and technologies to increase vaccine production globally. Other advocacy actions have included embassy visits in many countries where AHF operates and a ‘VOW’ protest in Brussels earlier this year targeting EU leaders.

Learn more by visiting VaccinateOurWorld.org, where you can pledge as an individual or as an organization to fight for vaccine access across the globe.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-governmental organization in the United States. The Foundation, which provides state-ofthe-art AIDS medicine to more than 1.6 million people in 45 countries, is the largest provider of HIV / AIDS care in the United States.

The representation of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Georgia (AHF Georgia) was opened in 2018. It provides to the Georgian population free and anonymous HIV rapid testing and webinars on reproductive health. The Foundation actively cooperates with the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), as well as with the medical and non-governmental sector involved in the treatment and prevention of HIV/ AIDS in Georgia.

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SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY

OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

Turning Points

BLOG BY TONY HANMER

I

found myself visiting Batumi only three days after the collapse of a seven-story building on 26 May Street led to the deaths of nine, including some children and four members of a single family, and the arrest of (so far) three for criminal neglect of

building codes. The friends which I was there to meet were also guests, and they were staying in an Airbnb apartment less than a block from the rubble.

Having watched the available footage of the thing coming down, narrowly missing a bystander, who ran for his life, and the heroic and delicate rescue efforts of 300odd emergency workers through the night of the 8th-9th of October, I was most sobered to see the wreckage in person

from mere meters away, and also to spend some moments at one of the memorial walls set up for the victims on the screens put up to keep the public at a distance while the cleanup crew and police did their follow-up work. Photos, toys, drawings, paintings, flowers, candles, icons and silence as people came to pay their last respects at this site which has gripped the nation with its horror for some days now.

The 11th was a national day of mourning.

As more people came up with roses, I was reminded that an even number of flowers in this part of the world is for sad commemorations, and an odd number of them (except for traditionally unlucky 13) for happy ones such as weddings or funerals.

Once the quiet respect has finished, though, there will be plenty of loud voices, some of which are already starting to speak up, dealing with building safety being ignored for the sake of expediency and simple greed. Not only in this unique case, but across Georgia: where else are buildings either being shoddily made from the start or fatally damaged (as happened here) once built?

How much can such doings be discovered early enough to save lives or even outright prevent the stupid actions from being begun? And how can those really guilty, on all levels, from those doing or undoing the work to those officially sanctioning it or turning a blind eye, be identified and punished?

The other moment I single out in Georgia’s very current events concerns the unignorable elephant in the room, Mikheil Saakashvili, whom I have met twice as the country’s 3rd president. Back now from his eight years’ self-imposed exile following the defeat of his political party, he has Gone Straight to Jail, Do Not Pass

Go, as the game of Monopoly would have it. No-one has any doubt that he knew this would happen and returned anyway.

He could not have failed to get expert legal advice while making his decision.

While #freedomforMisha (in Georgian) has emerged as a slogan for this moment, I have a better one: #mishavs (also in Georgian). This is a play on words in several ways. 1) it includes his name, Misha. 2) it follows this with VS, short for versus. 3) it is the opposite of the phrase ara mishavs (“It doesn’t matter to me”), meaning “It DOES matter to me”. My T-shirt bearing this slogan is so far the one and only one. I had it printed as a one-off here in Batumi, but the slogan won’t be copyrighted.

I put it that whatever Misha deserves, and whatever one thinks of him, his return at this moment will and should stir up new currents in Georgian politics and public life, now that we have just had national local elections which must lead to a number of runoffs in areas where there was no outright winner.

Misha and his fate and new position in Georgia and all that they mean cannot be ignored. No, these are not uninteresting times.

Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with nearly 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/ groups/SvanetiRenaissance/ He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

It's a Dog's Life in Georgia

Marco

BY HELENA BEDWELL

I

truly believe that street dogs in Georgia have made a more positive impact on tourism and the image of my country than people and culture alone. If anything, these adorable creatures should be the symbol of the capital, kind of like the cats of Istanbul.

While stray dogs are a no-no in many developed countries, it has become somewhat normal here for some reason.

In my childhood, dogs of breed were a rare luxury due to the communist regime restricting the varieties, but I do remember every household in the villages having at least one or two in their yards barking away. Then something happened: economic turndown, political turmoil and rapid changes in the post-soviet era,

and still that soviet-mentality and wanting foreign breeds- it all made people very cold towards our little friends.

I am sure everyone who reads this would agree that our country is hell for the husky breeds, labradors and hunter dogs, due to its totally unsuitable climate, lifestyle and the wrong choice potential owners make when choosing their companions. When I came back to Georgia after almost 10 years of absence, I was shocked to see so many abandoned animals on the roadsides.

The villagers could not fully explain why they never wanted those dogs indoors while still having idioms like "You have a dog's luck" in their vocabulary. The majority of the public still strive to have them but refuse to accept crossbreeds; they simply abandon them or put them in the shelters in the best-case scenario.

I’ve heard some urban legends on why religious people avoid dogs, but at the same time, I see priests and clergy owning expensive bred dogs, so this mystery to me is unsolved. As experts explain, the abandoned crossbreeds spread fast in the streets and the Tbilisi street dog was born. To make matters worse, there are simply no rules or regulations on puppy mills, commercial or personal ownership breeding, nor does anybody get punished for abandonment.

Almost every district in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi, and almost every region of Georgia has their own colorful stories to tell of a local pooch or a feline living in the streets and quite accustomed to the situation. Think of Kupata, the chubby black and white crossbreed in the streets of Batumi, which captivated the hearts of global social media for helping kids to cross the zebra crossing safely.

Think of Chorna, the old, chubby dog living near the flower market in downtown Tbilisi.

And everyone knows Salvador, the old, almost blind dog living near a famous ice-cream parlor. He doesn't like ice cream, but he does love the affection

from customers.

Recently, I met Marco through a very kind, young girl called Taso Losaberidze.

Marco is a beautiful, blue-eyed chocolate labrador crossbreed which Taso sheltered in her neighborhood in Gldani almost two years ago. At first, Marco appeared to be an obedient dog, but suddenly he started jumping on public buses and traveling across the city; this dog regularly rides a bus alone to take himself to the airport, cafes, hair-salons.

“He's a travel-loving dog, that's why I named him Marco, in honor of Marco Polo,” Taso tells me. She says that Marco had a special tag on his ear. Sometimes, she gets calls from the municipality to alert her that Marco has decided to stay in Vake for a week or two. But he’s not likely to stop for long. Marco even has his own Facebook page to update followers on his adventures and help his guardian find him quickly.

Taso writes on his page that Marco is smart enough not to create any havoc in shops and other public venues, and doesn't get into any trouble. He is also very disciplined when crossing the busy streets, so police officers won't fine him.

There are plenty of adorable stories about dogs similar to those mentioned above; the list is endless. And some are harder to hear. I personally met the wonderful duo Masho and Misho, also known as Custard and Cream, in the streets of Bagebi two years ago when I bought an apartment there. These cream-colored dogs had been tagged and had lived in the neighborhood for years, but it seemed more residents disliked their presence than enjoyed it. Every evening, my husband and I would go for a walk with them after dinner in the nearby park, where we would sit on the bench and talk to them in Georgian and English. It was fascinating how the street dogs showed a strong desire to be near humans, despite having experienced the cruelty of others who never welcomed them.

When cruel neighbors decided to destroy

Custard and Cream

the wooden house I had put up for them to spend winter in the warm, I decided enough was enough. Today, Custard lives with her new wonderful owner Sophie, who adopted her gladly, and Cream is living happily near Lisi Lake, hanging out with new friends.

I believe no-one should live outside a comfy home; not humans, not animals, unless they are born wild in the forest.

There are several organizations, charities, individual groups and activists, like myself, helping them. Unfortunately, the number of street dogs is not decreasing, and according to the unofficial statistics given in 2015, there are up to 46,000 stray dogs and cats living in and around Tbilisi. According to Jano Japaridze, Head of the Tbilisi State Municipality Shelter, around 26,000 of those have been tagged, neutered and vaccinated.

As much as I like the tourists adoringly patting the dogs in the streets and allowing them to eat at the roadside cafes, it still bothers me to portray a country of such high culture and history as a place of ill-treatment of dogs and cats. Unless awareness begins from a young age, no actual laws will be helpful. The love of animals should start in childhood and right now, to eradicate Georgia's stray dog problem.

I remember seeing the famous movie ‘Mimino’ by genius director Giorgi Danelia. The movie was about a Georgian pilot who decided to try his luck in larger

planes during soviet times; about his love of his homeland and everyone who had ever been to Georgia. I recently found out that the small dog ‘Zarbazan,’ featured in the movie, was actually a stray dog. The movie director had spotted him near the set and decided to put him in the movie. Zarbazan gave the best dog performance of all time and got adopted by the director himself after the movie was shot.

That’s the kind of happy ending I’m talking about.

CULTURE

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2021

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President of Georgia: One of our Greatest Resources and Values that Can be Exported is our Culture

BY KETEVAN SKHIRTLADZE

T

he President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili has started an official visit to the Republic of Austria.

The visit to Vienna started with a meeting with Georgians working in Austria, which was attended by representatives of the arts and medicine.

At the meeting with the President, famous musicians, composers, opera representatives, as well as doctors and scientists working in the medical sector presented their own initiatives, the implementation of which will lead to the development and progress of these areas in Georgia.

The representatives of the art field working in Vienna stated it would be good if a Georgian cultural center was established in Vienna in cooperation with the embassy, which would promote the popularization of Georgian

art and culture.

“One of our greatest resources and values to be exported is our culture. In this regard, any state would find it difficult to do as much as each of you can with their talent and hard work. Today is a time of freedom, and that freedom allows us to express ourselves. This success is yours, but it also belongs to the state too,” Zurabishvili said.

During the meeting, they talked about the creation and financing of new directions of student exchange programs, including the issue of equalizing the tuition fees of Georgian students in EU countries with the tuition fees of EU citizens.

As the President of Georgia noted, this issue will be discussed in the areas of sectoral integration of Georgia into the European Union. Due to its importance, the issue was already discussed during the President’s meeting with David Sassoli in Brussels, and it is planned to resolve this issue in cooperation with each EU member state.

Georgian Arts Palace – Museum of Cultural History Named Best Museum 2021

BY ANA DUMBADZE

T

he Georgian Palace of Arts has been named the winner of one of the most prestigious awards worldwide – the International Travel Awards. In the category “Best Museum in Georgia 2021,” the Palace

of Arts won unconditionally. The Art Palace is home to more than 300,000 objects that provide comprehensive information on the unfolding of Georgian theater, cinema, circus, folklore, opera and ballet.

The International Travel Awards is organized by Golden Tree Events. Golden Tree Events, a leading tourism, marketing and PR company, is actively promoting more than 5,000 travel companies

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and various cultural institutions through its online platform.

Famous organizations such as Castle IN LOVE WITH THE WIND (Bulgaria), BOTANIQ Castle of Tura (Hungary), and Radisson Blu Hotel. participated in the competition.

“After a long and tense competition period, we are happy to announce that the Palace of Art – Museum of Cultural History will be placed on the mentioned platform with the status of a winner!

We are especially proud of this award, we thank all the staff of the Palace of

Journalists: Ana Dumbadze, Vazha Tavberidze, Tony Hanmer, Emil Avdaliani, Nugzar B. Ruhadze, Michael Godwin, Ketevan Skhirtladze Photographer: Aleksei Serov

Arts for their hard work, thanks to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, without whose support it would have been impossible to receive such international support! We are sure that the Art Palace will again delight the visitors

Website Manager/Editor: Katie Ruth Davies Layout: Misha Mchedlishvili Webmaster: Sergey Gevenov Circulation Managers: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

and the lovers of Georgian culture many times!,” stated the Georgian Palace of Arts.

Visit the Art Palace museum at 6 Kargareteli St, Tbilisi.

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