Jailed ex-president Saakashvili claims Georgian Dream 'pressures' Armenia to expel Georgian NGOs
Saakashvili on the expulsion of Georgian NGOs from Armenia
Armenian media are discussing a Facebook post by the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, in which he claims that the Georgian authorities are allegedly demanding the expulsion of Georgian NGOs from Yerevan and the closure of their accounts.
Saakashvili alleges that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze issued an ultimatum to the Armenian government: to prevent Yerevan from becoming a hub for Georgia’s pro-Western NGOs, otherwise threatening to impose restrictions on the movement of Armenian cargo.
As of the time of publication, neither the Georgian nor the Armenian authorities had commented on these claims.
Radio Azatutyun (the Yerevan bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) also reported on this issue. We publish a translation of the article by Gevorg Stamboltsyan.
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No comment on Saakashvili’s post from Armenian,Georgian authorities
“Kobakhidze has demanded that Armenia expel representatives of Georgian NGOs from Yerevan. Armenia’s capital is now full of Georgians, as all the conferences previously organised in Georgia with Western funding have been moved to Yerevan. The Georgian authorities are also demanding that the accounts of these organisations be closed,” Saakashvili wrote.
Neither the Georgian nor the Armenian authorities have commented on Saakashvili’s claims. However, according to the former Georgian president, the Armenian authorities are in no hurry to comply with the Kobakhidze government’s demands.
“The Pashinyan government replies that Armenia does not have a ‘foreign agents’ law, nor is the adoption of such a law planned. Therefore, there are no grounds to restrict the free activities of Georgians. However, Kobakhidze is threatening Yerevan with restrictions on the movement of goods,” the former Georgian leader maintains.
Georgia begins restricting the transit of Azerbaijani cargo
Saakashvili says the threat to restrict Armenia’s cargo transit is already being applied to Azerbaijan.
Baku-based media back up the former president’s claim. They report that in recent weeks Georgian customs officials have created artificial obstacles for Azerbaijani lorries, leading to hundreds of vehicles queuing at border checkpoints.
“There are no explanations. The behaviour of Georgian customs officers is extremely aggressive and hostile. Some even say: ‘Why are you using this road? Send your cargo through your own Zangezur corridor,’” one driver told reporters.
Other drivers also told Azerbaijani state television that Georgian border guards had begun showing inexplicable aggression towards them.
“There were no issues with my documents. Even so, I was stuck at the customs office in Tbilisi for more than 20 days. Throughout that time, officials behaved extremely aggressively towards Azerbaijani drivers. Georgia’s traffic police are hardly any different,” said Parvin Hasanov, an Azerbaijani driver.
On 2 December, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze dismissed reports in Azerbaijani media about problems faced by Azerbaijani lorry drivers in Georgia. Kobakhidze said he had looked into the issue personally and found no systemic problem, noting that “only one truck was delayed, and for a specific reason.”
Georgia’s Revenue Service also issued a statement denying any deliberate stoppage of lorries and insisting that customs operations are running smoothly. It suggested that some drivers may have encountered difficulties because they did not have the required documents.
Saakashvili is convinced that Azerbaijani lorries are being blocked at the border at Moscow’s request.
An article by the Azerbaijani outlet Caliber also suggests that the shift in Georgia’s attitude towards Azerbaijan may be linked either to “those representing Armenia’s interests within the Georgian government” or to the influence of “the northern neighbour” — a reference to Russia.
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Saakashvili on the expulsion of Georgian NGOs from Armenia
