| # 7 (62), 1- 31 January, 2016 | | |
| The report describes Georgian media monitoring results for 1-31 January 2016, and activities conducted on the basis of this monitoring. | |
The following main tendencies have been found during this period:
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- Armenophobic sentiments have been found to be growing during the period of 1-31 January 2016. Two unchecked claims spread in the internet media were used as reasons for this: the first said that a song based on the Georgian song “The Country of Flowers” would be presented by Armenia at the Eurovision contest; the second was based on the video where Armenian professional dancers perform a Georgian dance; Some media outlets disseminated unchecked claims, with generalizations about all Armenians, along with Armenophobic comments.
- Discriminatory statements by public officials were also noted in January. For instance, by Deputy Minister of Diaspora Affairs Sandro Bregadze and
| - Chairman of the Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee Tamaz Mechiauri. Their statements were followed by responses from the No to Phobia platform members, which are presented below.
- During dissemination of anti-Western statements by media and politicians, acts of violence during the New Year night in Germany were actively used; also, Geworld.ge actively uses the practice, when it refers to acts of violence in the West, specifically in the U.S. and presents them as a constant tendency;
- Turkophobic tendencies also continue, especially by Obiektivi TV, Saqinform and Geworld.ge. Russia is being presented as defender of Georgia’s identity in comparison with Turkey;
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Statements by the No to Phobia platform
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| In January 2016 member organizations of the No to Phobia platform issued two statements in response to discriminatory statements by high-level officials. On 15 January, member NGOs of the No to Phobia! platform issued a statement directed to the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili, regarding another statement by Deputy Minister of Diaspora Affairs Sandro Bregadze which promoted hate and intolerance towards certain individuals. On January 23 member organization of the No to Phobia! platform issued a statement about expressions regarding physical violence and xenophobic (Armeniophobic) statements; On 20 February Deputy Minister of Diaspora Affairs Sandro Bregadze resigned his post by his own statement. This is how he explained it: „"I have resigned!!! To be precise, they did everything for me to resign, because they demanded that I reject my principles!!!! Yes!!! Same-sex marriage will never be legalized, and nobody will be able to insult the Church and the Patriarch, and we shall have our national state!!!" (Source: Interpressnews, 20 February 2016) Late January 2016 saw rise of Armenophobic sentiments, on thi basis of unverified information spread in the Internet, about possible “theft” of Georgian song and dance by Armenian performers. | |
Complaint to the charter of journalistic ethics
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| The NGOs: Peace Foundation, MDF, TDI and GDI filed a complaint regarding discriminatory (Armenophobic) reporting to the Journalistic Ethics Charter Council of Georgia on 3 February 2016. In the complaint, these NGOs request study of an article by Eka Salaghaia, published by Kviris Palitra on its website on 25 January 2016, for the possible violation of Articles 1, 3 and 7 of the Journalistic Ethics Charter. | |
| Russian-language sources: Alia-365news.biz; myjulia.ru Obiektivi- 1TV.ru | |
Hate speech/incitement of hatred: politicians
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| Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Sandro Bregadze, Deputy Minister of Diaspora Affairs: "Noises made by these nonentities cannot damage the Patriarch, but it is a fact that obscenity of Rati Amaghlobeli, Ninia Kakabadze, Gigi Tevzadze and such has gone over all boundaries. They are parasites, fed by 30 pieces of silver to fight against all things national and Orthodox Christian....The place of Rati Amaghlobeli, Ninia Kakabadze, Gigi Tevzadze and such atheist experts is first at the psychiatric institution, and then at the dustbin of history – at the side of Sergo Orjonikidze, Philipe Makharadze and other traitors!” | |
Incitement of violence: media
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| Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January
Giorgi Gigauri, journalist: “ It seems that phallusopher Gigi Tevzadze has gone mad and is stricken with the same Soros illness as Ninia Kakabadze and Natia Koberidze! Perhaps they could be cured with a pike treated with garlic?!” | |
Incitement of violence: society
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| Obiektivi, Night Studio, 28 January Irakli Kakabadze, respondent: „…I am openly saying – their cars will be blown up, of course we don’t respect their property, it is stolen property. How can you respect the property of the likes of Murusidze?! One should blow up that car, except for killing a person, we should not do violence, but we shall destroy their property. We shall point it, we shall make their life ugly. Until they realize that they should not spit into the soul of the Georgian people. We shall do absolutely everything. We shall do everything, even sacrifice our lives, so that state resources at courts are not at the hands of murderers and terrorists.“ | |
| Alia, 19-20 January Soso Tsintsadze, political observer: „When you have in the country 400 thousand Azeris who don’t know Georgian language, whom you haven’t managed to make politically Georgian, you have Armenians, Ossetians, who don’t know Georgian language and whom you haven’t managed to make politically Georgian, this means that you have this issue like the Achilles’ heel and nobody knows when this may blow up.“ | |
Turkophobia/Islamophobia: politicians
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| Obiektivi, Night Studio, 27 January David Tarkhan-Mouravi,Patriots Alliance: „In fact, Turkey supports the Caliphate and fights against the Kurds, and we should be the Kurds’ allies in this case. Because Kurds are our natural allies against Turkey, which actually wants to conquer Georgia and does not even hide this.“
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Turkophobia/Islamophobia: media
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| Saqinform 15 January
Arno Khidirbegishvili:"Historical fact: Turks have always been aggressors and occupiers for Georgia. Only Russia prevented Turks from conquering the country of Orthodox Christian Georgians...“ | |
Turkophobia/Islamophobia: society
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| Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Gia Kruashvili, political activist:„Look at the children clothes and footwear imported from Turkey – there are crosses depicted at most of diapers and soles! Does anyone pay attention to this?“ Geworld.ge, 20 January Simon Kopadze,Vice Rector of Georgia-Caucasus Strategic Studies Institute:“ ...For the Muslims nationality and homeland are not as important as for us; for them it is homeland wherever the green flag of Allah is risen; | | ...They settle in various countries, accept all the benefits of the European civilization, the Christian tolerance; they get stronger, multiply, build bisques and then create enclaves where they establish Sharia law... The West did not even try to bring Islam to the Western values, on the contrary, they widely opened the door to Europe for the Islamic civilization. As a result, there are such large Muslim communities and enclaves, which provide fertile ground for extremism.“
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Armenophobia: political parties
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| Netgazeti, 23 january Tamaz Mechiauri, Georgian Dream: “ I did not know whether it was Mr. Artur who whistled, or... more strongly… perhaps more… the incident was irritating, that they whistle and insult.” | |
| Asaval-Dasavali, 18-24 January Headline: The Georgians where cursed first by Armenians and then by Russians! “ Take the fact that after the initiative of Sassanid Persian Shah Khosrow II Parviz (591-628), at the church council in Armenian city of Dvin, Armenian Catholicos Abraam cursed the Georgian Catholicos Kirion and the Georgian people, because we remained faithful to the decisions of the Chalcedon Council and did not betray “the Greek faith”, meaning Orthodox Christianity …” | |
Armenophobia: non-governmental organizations
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| Interpressnews. 23 January Statement by the Chamber of Culture: "\Unfortunately, lately there are attempts to take over Georgian culture and art in the Armenian TV and Internet. The Georgian people conquered heights in the world through its proud and old traditional culture. The Georgian people never took what belonged to someone else. We all must fight to protect Georgian culture, because this is not the first such case on their part. ...". | |
| Kviris Palitra 25 January Bondo Arveladze, historian, Armenologist - "In Armenia there are musicians, actors, writers, historian, who have the disease of “sick historicism”... They claim that Leonardo da Vinci and Alexander Suvorov were Armenians, and that Noah spoke to God in Armenian language on the Ararat mountain. They claim that “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” was written by Armenian, and that Akaki Tsereteli translated “Suliko” from Armenian and then Georgians burned the original. " | |
| Obiektivi, 10 January TV viewer: "You know well that he (former Prime Minister) did notadopt same-sex marriage in the Constitution, he did not sell out to the ugly Indians and stinking blacks. He did not sell lands to the Negroes and that is why Masons got rid of him. I know this from you even better than I used to believe it.“ | |
Religious discrimination: politicians
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| Obiektivi, Night Studio, 12 January Vazha Otarashvili, Patriots Alliance“: „There are these pictures in the Internet, where in the Baptist or Evangelist temple of Malkhaz Songhulashvili Bokeria, son of Kako Bakradze, David Narmania, Subari and Gigi Tsereteli are praying together...Such people, who do not believe in God, who are not Orthodox, who are enemies of Georgia, and of Georgian identity, who have sold their soul to the Devil, of course such people would make such statements.“
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Religious discrimination: media
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| Geworld.ge, 13 January Nikoloz Korinteli - author: „...... How the “civilized” Catholic society would react if an ambassador of thir country adopted different faith? Considering the practice of Inquisition, which burned hundreds of people alive for heresy, such ambassador would be burned at stake. By the way, the Orthodox Church never committed such barbarity, for which the “civilized” catholic Church is famous”. | |
|  | | | Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Kakha Kukava, Free Georgia: Kvirikashvili will not dare to speak against gay parades, same-sex marriage and other liberast ideas! | | |  | | | Kviris Palitra, 13 January Soso Jachvliani, „Georgian Dream“: "Anti-discrimination law means protection not only for pederasts, the statements of Kobakhidze are discrimination against sportsmen...“ | | | | |
| Geworld.ge, 13 January David Mkheidze - author: „...Russia is the only country which prohibited gay parades by law, evicted Soros Fund from the country and put activities of other NGOs under strict control. Thus, Russia is not threatened by the color revolutions, nor by the total pederastization, because it is the world pivot of Orthodox Christianity...“ | |
| Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Gia Kruashvili, political activist: „Yes, the pig has sexual organs o both female and male...I called the pig Kesaria, because she is representative of sexual minorities and until famous defenders of pederasts – Irakli Vacharadze, Eka Gigauri, Nino Lomjaria, Ninia Kakabadze, Tamar Chergoleishvili – allow us, who will dare to put her neck under a knife?..When I told this to my son-in-law, he changed his mind about killing the pig. You know that for liberasts the value of animal and human life is the same...“ | |
Anti-Western: politicians
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| Alia, 6-7 January; Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Temur Shashiashvili, Burjanadze-United Opposition„EU but Greece into debt and then forces it to adopt that dirty law.They lead us down that road too, they want us to get into enormous debt and then use it to force us legalize same-sex marriage“. | | Asaval-Dasavali, 18-24 January Soso Manjavidze, independent Member of Sakrebulo:„Europe is castrated by liberalism! What ideals and freedom can Europe defend, when it cannot even protect its own women?! In the middle of Europe, in front of the ancient Cologne Cathedral, in the square, the migrants massively raped women and nobody could do anything about it...“ | | | |
| Saqinform, 14 January Archil Chkoidze, Neutral Eurasian Georgia: „The lords used to look after their serves. And we have a lord, in the person of America, which does nothing for us, is just pressures us and makes us do whatever it wants“. | |
| Geworld.ge, 13January Nana Devdariani - author: „...What is happening in Europe today is the result of “the death of God”, and while you are looking for your identity in godlessness, you should not worry about when Christmas is celebrated by those for whom God is alive! ... Our pro-Western forces try to picture the West for us as a pretty Christmas card, but in fact the West and Europe are boiling. It is looking for its own neglected identity. During this painful search there will be losses, and, hopefully, gains too.“ | | Obiektivi, Political Night, 31 January Source: 1TV.ru Valery Kvaratskhelia, anchor:„This is what happened in Europe when they lost moderation and decided that there is something above nationality and that thing is absolute and nationality must be sacrificed to it“. „There are scenes of rapes of women in Europe, in the light of day, some astonishing things are happening. Fights, conflict and this have become a usual thing there“... | | | |
| Geworld.ge, 28 January
„A doctor in Sweden locked a woman in a bunker and was raping her for several days. In New York they put a masturbation cabin. London sex toys company HOT Octopuss put revolutionary device GueFi – masturbation cabin – in New York, Manhattan, 28th Street and 5th Avenue. Inside there is a chair, a laptop and a curtain, so that one can do what he wants alone, Former angel of Victoria’s Secret, who had been driving while being drunk, was arrested by the police.“ | |
Anti-Western sentiments: non-governmental organizations
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| Geworld.ge, 20 January Irakli Ubilava, Head of Political Scientists Club - respondent: „ ... System will be destroyed and justice restored in one case only: if the order established in the South Caucasus by the United States is destroyed, and believe me, if the system is destroyed, justice will be restored swiftly afterwards.“
| | Geworld.ge, 28 January Vladimer Chubinidze, member of the political council of “Russia is Our Neighbor” union: “ Because of America’s incitement our country will be involved in military maneuvers, which means that Georgia won’t exist any more. Terrorist organizations are mainly created by America, and, whether directly or not, Georgia is also involved in this dirty business.“
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Anti-Western sentiments: society
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| Asaval-Dasavali, 25-31 January Jemal Kakhniashvili, economist:„The money that comes to the banks opened in Georgia, flows into the foreigners’ pockets, because the foreigners have the most successful banking sector...As to visa liberalization, there will be serious demographic problems in the country, foreign goods will be sold here while ours will not, and the Georgian people will be finally turned into servants.Selling land must be prohibited, so that it does not end up in the foreigners’ hands, they must do everything to restore agriculture“. | |
Gender discrimination/stereotypes: non-governmental organizations
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| Asaval-Dasavali, 11-17 January Source: Kviris Chronika Zviad Tomaradze, Georgian Demographic Society 21: „It is hard to imagine what results will absolute equality of men and women to the humanity.It will become debatable, whose surname should children have, etc.This draft law has been ordered by feminists too, and our “noble MPs” are following these orders, despite the fact that there are numerous other problems in the country“. | |
Gender discrimination/stereotypes: society
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| Alia, 28 January Tsotne Gamsakhurdia: „I am sorry, I am not against women in politics, nor do I support gender discrimination, I am a girl’s father after all! ... But: explain to me, why do all not properly screwed Georgian womenpoliticians dream about being Margaret Thatcher? Don’t they have other examples to follow?“
Prime Time, 18 January Valerian Shiukashvili, pianist: „I will probably an Asiatic husband. I agree that after marrying a woman must become different, more restrained and modestly dressed.... A woman will do more of her own free will than under pressure, believe me, I have this practice ...“
| | Alia, 21 January Mamuka Areshidze, expert: „We must take under consideration EU recommendation about the 30% quota for ladies in Parliament. Maybe there won’t be that many ladies in the list, since women’s resource is problematic, but of course, the number of women must grow.“ Imedi, Chronika, 22 January Giorgi Khamaldze,grandfather of a minor: „She finished 8 grades, she knew how to write and read, I would prefer her to marry rather than study at university, and that is what happened.“ | | | |
|  | | | Newsletter was developed by Media Development Foundation (MDF) within the frameworks of the Promoting Integration, Tolerance and Awareness Program in Georgia, supported by USAID and implemented by UNAG. | | |  | | | Opinions and ideas provided in this newsletter are those of the Media Development Foundation (MDF) and do not represent the official position of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the UN Association of Georgia. | | | | |
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