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# 29, November 1 - December 1, 2017

Discriminatory and Anti-Western Bias in the Media

In November, throughout the media outlets  subjected to monitoring 166 discriminatory statements and 36 anti-western comments were published. Typology of discriminative statements, of which homophobia was the prevailing, is shown in the table below:

Homophobia

Sources: The following media outlets were prominent by their use of homophobic comments (40):

                Alia-19                           Saqartvelo da Msoflio (geworld.ge)-11  Asaval-Dasavali-8  Saqinform-2 

The majority share of homophobic statements made by civil society organizations (31 in total) went to Georgian March:

     Georgian march - 20

  Demographic Union of               Georgia - 3

Teacher's Coordination              Centre - 2;

other – 6

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Members of various political parties, including the ruling party, made 15 homophobic remarks:

 Georgian          Democratic Movement      Patriot Alliance         Movement ‘Nationals’ - 2

 Dream - 4          for United Georgia - 3           of Georgia - 2        Other - 4.

Homophobic messages: A significant rise of homophobic feelings was caused, by on the one hand marriage of Davit Shubladze, citizen of Georgia and representative of the LGBT community, in the United States with his partner and on the other hand by the expulsion of a student [Anzor Svanidze] from Kutaisi Private Media School for his openly homophobic stance. The initiative to introduce gender-neutral education in preschool classrooms was considered a threat to the formation of traditional sexual identity in children. Homophobic statements contained following messages:

  • Freedom of expression for the LGBT community is an offense over the majority of the population.
  • Initiative to bring in gender-neutral education in the preschool classrooms may influence the child's sexual orientation.
  • A person should not be restricted from public life just because of openly homophobic statements.
  • The sporting of an LGBT supportive captain’s armband by the Vice Captain of the Georgian national football team and FC Vitesse’s defender Guram Kashia in a match against Heracles was due to fear/pressure/ hope of a financial gain.

Political parties

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 15th

Zaza Papuashvili, Georgian Dream: "This [Homosexuality] is an anomaly and deviation for me personally, but I repeat: it does not mean to harass someone, to persecute ... While talking about human rights, let us protect everyone's rights, but in a country where most of the population is Orthodox Christian and upholds traditional values in their everyday life, the minorities should be so kind and respect the interests of these people."

 

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 6th, Marshallpress, November 7th,  

David Tarkhan-Mouravi, Patriots Alliance of Georgia: "Homosexuality and lesbianism is a disease, it is a psychological disorder. Often it represents genetic and psychological disorders in combination, but in any case it is a sickness. This is not a virtue! This is very bad and this affliction needs treatment!.. There are a lot of people in society who say this represents a malady and who fight against this evil! ...  The fight is essential so that the young generation's mind-set does not become upset, that it does not become perverted or distorted!"

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 2
Giorgi Akhvlediani, Democratic Movement United Georgia - Nino Burjanadze: "Because of the “anti-discrimination” legislation adopted by boys and girls dressed in traditional Georgian clothing, if my son is being educated in school by an openly gay person, we do not have the right to demand that this person be removed from his post in the educational institution. If by chance I say something and he is fired, the school we be closed down."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Media

Alia, issue for the week of 6-12 November,
Nino Samkharadze, journalist: "The accounts of last week leave us under the impression that the majority is a victim of abuse coming from the sexual minority. We are forced to like them and make their lives prototypical for our own. This is psychological pressure, oppression, and violation of human rights of the people from traditional heterosexual orientation."

 

 

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 17
Gia Gabrichidze, journalist: "Naturally, the government can not and will not be actively involved. This is to say with measures available to them, that the police conduct mass arrests of homosexuals or drastic legislative amendments. There will be no alteration of real democratic values, restricting the freedom of expression for example, but aggressive forms of propaganda of non-traditional orientation must be restricted, definite boundaries between Liberalism and aggression should be established." 

Civil Society organisations

Alia, issue for the week of November 13-19
Sandro Bregadze, Georgian march : "I can tell you directly that there is an ongoing and aggressive forms of terror coming from the side of liberasts (combination of the word liberal and pederasty) and homosexuals towards the Georgian population! The case of [Anzor] Svanadze is certainly a disgusting fact, when one student's education is terminated on the grounds that he has asserted the national, Georgian point of view on matters and did not support this ongoing immorality! This is not a singular fact, we already have been witness to a few cases when people from different institutions are dismissed from their work because they do not approve of homosexuality!"

Asaval-Dasavali, issue for the week of November 13-19
Guram Palavandishvili, Organisation for Child Protecion: "The world is under severe intimidation from the LGBT community. Say NO to this dirty LGBT terror! It is a form of violence, when you do not want to but are forced to wear an advocating armband, or when you make a comment with a different opinion and get cut from the air, when you are a member of the government and you are afraid to say that LGBT relations are perverting our children."

Xenophobia

Sources: The source of xenophobic statements were most often representatives from various political parties (5):

      Leftist Alliance - 2                Patriots Alliance                      Movement         Whites – 1 

                                                        of Georgia - 1                        Nationals - 1

Source for the totality 6 homophobic comments made by the media were the following publications:

Georgia and the World/geworld.ge - 3   Obieqtivi TV - 1             Kavkasia TV - 1   Prime Time - 1;

Xenophobic fountainheads in civil organizations were Georgian March (2) and Center for Research of Terrorism and Political Violence (1).

Xenophobic messages:

  • Georgian citizens who are representatives of ethnic minorities are the most commonly drug dealers.
  • Assignment of Georgian citizenship to individuals of Asian and African origin weakens the country's security index.
  • Business activity of foreign citizens is causing the worsening of economic situation for Georgian citizens.
  • Population of Georgian ethnicity might become a minority.

Politicians

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 8th
Vazha Otarashvili, Patriots Alliance of Georgia: "Georgia can not go down this path! The country is going towards an abyss! Look around – Foreigners from thousands of lands are walking around and this is the fault of the declared state policy of today’s government."

 

Iberia, Cenzuris Gareshe(without censorship), November 8th

Soso Shatberashvili, Leftist Alliance: "Why does the Georgian youth look towards drugs and why is the use of drugs in Georgia such a prevailing matter, when other people, I repeat, who are not ethnic Georgians enriching themselves with the fact that Georgians are poisoning themselves?"

Media

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 22nd
Bondo Mdzinarashvili, anchor of the program: "It is very important, so to speak, where this person [migrant] originated from; is it Northern Africa or Northern Ireland. Now, if someone comes to our country to let’s say start an enterprise, if he is European, we certainly welcome it, but if a man shows up with a bundle of his things, to find happiness in Georgia where a lot of people live in dire poverty, then the government should take care of it... Why do we want these people here, who tomorrow can become a very serious problem for us." 

Civil Organisations

Alia, issue for the week of November 13-19
Sandro Bregadze, Georgian March: "This horde, which threatens to engulf Georgia, directly states that their goal is for Georgians to become an ethnic minority inside Georgia!  And in this environment, masses of Arabs, Iranians and other various tribes are being resettled on Georgian territory and the country's demographic climate is forcefully being changed!"

 

Alia, November 27th , December 3rd
Sandro Bregadze, Georgian March: «Georgian March» will take the responsibility upon itself for the country's security and will start to expel the suspicious persons from the territory of our country, who represent potential threats! Let no one make a sound that this is violence - Yes, if we have information about an individual being member of a terrorist group or in bed with a criminal organisation of other kind, we will hand him over to law enforcement agencies and if necessary, we will forcefully remove him our country’s territorial grounds.

Turkophobia/Islamophobia

Media sources of Turkophobic and Islamophobic statements:

      Georgia and the World/geworld.ge - 3                              Obieqtivi TV – 2

Civic organizations

                          Georgian March - 3                               Center for Research of Terrorism and                                                                                                             Political Violence - 2 

The Democratic Movement for United Georgia is the source of the only Islamophobic statement made by politicians in November.

Turkophobic / Islamophobic messages:

  • Turkey has appropriated Georgian territories and should not be regarded as a strategic partner of Georgia.
  • Russia is the only deterrent for the threat coming from the Islamic world and directed towards Georgia.
  • Foreign nationals living in Georgia who are followers of Islam create a threat of terrorism in the country.

Political parties

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 20th
Gubaz Sanikidze, United Democratic Movement: "Let's say, [Russia] has collapsed ... that seven states in the North Caucasus should be created as it historically was and can you doubt the fact that these seven states will not be secular and will be fundamentalist followers of Islam?! Did you forget Lekianoba(Lek is a traditional Georgian name for the people of Dagestan, this expression refers to a time when Leks used to raid on Georgian territories) period?! Where does the word “Tsalekva”(ravage) comes from?" 

Media

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 29th
Nino Ratishvili, anchor: "[If Russia is to collapse] and then what will happen to us, when we will find ourselves in the middle of this Islamic belt." 

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 1st
Iza Tamazashvili, author: "The Georgian people have to understand: if not for Russian influence, today we would have witnessed the repeat of events that took place in Iraq, Libya or Syria. If Russia had not been a factor, what do you think the Islamists who are involved in terrorist attacks in Germany and rape women would have done to Georgia?"

Civil organisations

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 22nd
Badri Nachkebia, Research Center for Terrorism and Political Violence: "What should Georgia do in this case? Dozens of phones on which Arabic, Iranian, Turkish and Indian languages are spoken have to be monitored, because there are so many people in India, pay attention, a big number of radical Islamist today, the most serious terrorist organizations are from India - After "Al Qaeda" and the so-called “Islamic State”, these are militant terrorist organizations originating from Kashmir – “Kharaqa un Alsar" and "Hashar e Taiba". That's why we can not do it alone." 

Anti-Western Sentiments

Most anti-Western statements (18) were made by representatives of media organisations:

Georgia and the World/                           Alia- 1                                 Saqinform- 1 

     geworld.ge- 16

Political parties

  Democratic Movement United Georgia - 3                           Georgian idea - 1 

The source of two anti-western statements made by Civil Society Organisations were Georgian March and Organisation for Child Protection.

Anti-Western messages:

  • The LGBT community and their rights advocates fight against the Orthodox Church and the concept of family as an institution by the order of their western partners.
  • Discussion about the condition of the rights of the LGBT community is to serve the interests of Western institutions and not those of Georgian ones.
  • The initiation of gender-neutral education in kindergartens is a norm that comes from the West and serves to change the sexual orientation of children.

Political parties

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 15th
Giorgi Akhvlediani, Democratic Movement United Georgia - Nino Burjanadze: "Unfortunately, homosexuality has become one of the most pressing issues in our present reality, because, as never before, the donor organisations appointed by the US Department of State are trying to dedicate themselves to the solving of this matter. With the money transferred from there, there are many projects in Georgia that are directed towards strengthening false liberal propaganda. The same money finances the so-called NGOs and today, in fact, these organizations are more in number than the homosexuals they are trying to protect.”

Alia, issue for the week of November 6-12
Gega Khvedelidze, Georgian idea: "Yes, and now financial donations will come down like rain for those wicked organisations in Georgia. The only thing that will put an end to this process – A real, Christian, Conservative group to come into legislative power in Georgia, which will legislate against this evil that has befallen us! Otherwise we can not stop what is happening, because we're going up against a huge monster."

Media

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 17th

Nika Korinteli, journalist: "Western "educational", propagandist organizations and networks, research departments and university chairs, state ministries and gigantic mass media industry continue in their nefarious endeavour, aimed at destroying the family institution and perversing our children and, in general, the society. That is where the Georgian government urges the Georgian population to go."

Civil organisations

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 9th, Beqa Vardosanidze, Georgian March: 

"The government is not capable of confronting the dictatorship that ultra-liberals are trying to establish, whether be it discrediting the Church or the propaganda of homosexual behaviour. Our politicians flatter themselves in front of the EU leaders, proof of this happening is the pride they take from the adoption of the anti-discrimination law. This law was used by homosexuals and ultra liberals to serve their own agenda. They manipulate everyone using this law as basis. The simple fact is that the government has ratified this anti-discrimination law as a result of international pressure."

Gender

Sources: Gender Stereotypes and Gender Discrimination was in regard with the registration of a legislative project dealing with sexual harassment in the parliament, as well as the initiative to introduce gender-neutral curriculum in kindergartens.

Media

Georgia and the World/                              Alia- 1                                Saqinform- 1

       geworld.ge - 5   

Political parties

Patriots Alliance of Georgia - 3         Free Georgia - 1         Kartuli Dasi - 1     Sakhalkho 

                                                                                                                                  Kreba- 1 

Messages:

  • The draft law about sexual harassment serves as an actor to propagate animosity between a woman and a man;
  • The woman is herself the cause sexual harassment;
  • The capabilities of men and women differ significantly so the gender-neutral way of teaching is incoherent.

Political Parties

Obieqtivi TV, Night Studio, November 6th,
David Tarkhan-Mouravi, Patriots Alliance of Georgia: “Kindergarten and school are not places where a little girl, a future lady should be raised wanting to become a concrete worker, this is idiotic, no such attempts should be made... A gentlewoman cannot refuse her womanhood and a man must not give up on his manhood, these matters need to be struggled for..." 

Asaval-Dasavali, issue for the week of November 20-26
Elizbar Javelidze, Georgian Assembly: "He [Alexander Jejelava, Former minister of Education of Georgia] should give us answers on why he has signed this criminal provision on the introduction of "gender equality" in kindergartens: It turns out that our boys cannot feel themselves as boys, and the girls cannot identify themselves as girls! These idiots are trying to issue a new type of “mid-sexual” persons!"

Media

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 2nd, Bakur Svanidze, Journalist:

"If we look at the past of these [sexually] harassed victims, we see that the majority of them [women], in the past have been distinguished with poignant liberal-feminist statements and are not mentally healthy. All of them, if we reread their earlier blog publications, we will discover that in almost all the words they write tendencies of sexuality and sick fantasies." 

Saqartvelo da Msoflio (Georgia and the World/geworld.ge), November 17th, Nika Korinteli, Journalist:

In the program for "school readiness", to put it mildly, the capabilities of a woman and a man are shown in a distorted manner, it is displayed that "all the work in the modern world is equally well-suited for men and women." If so, why are women not equally engaged in the heavy physical work, for example in mines, shafts, metallurgical factories, quarries, constructions or the army. What does it even mean to "perform equally well"? Let us take for example sports, are the results for men and women identical be it Highjump, Longjump, Weightlifting or Shot put?"

See full collection of examples of discriminatory statements at the websitewww.notophobia.ge

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.

Media Development Foundation

http://notophobia.ge/

http://www.mdfgeorgia.ge

info@mdfgeorgia.ge

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