Juglander Review
Civil rights group calls for end of discrimination of minority groups in Mktvartvelo
Aisha Saqqaf, spokesperson of the Tanastsoroba-Beraberlik Association (also known as TAN-BER, a civil organization established in 1999 to defend the rights of all native inhabitants of Mktvartvelo, independently of their religious or ethnic background), has visited Albrektberg as she was invited to participate in a debate by a lawyers organization based in Jugland.
Mrs. Saqqaf, a former lawyer who became spokesperson of the organization in 2014, has explained the works of their organization and their role in the promotion of civil rights in Mktvartvelo. In the last days, the organization has received criticism in Mktvartvelo's media as the organization announced they will be offered, completely free, the legal defense of activists and protesters arrested in the recent protests in the town of Khoni, even in case when they were charged with acts of violence or vandalism.
"We strongly condemn any form of violence", Saqqaf declared. "There is no room for violence in peaceful protests, as these protests started. However, as a civil organization aimed to promote equality and fairness, we also believe in the right to a defense and fair trial. We understand that some of the protesters do not have the means to pay for their defense or would prefer a legal team whom they feel they can trust and understand them. We offer them to do so until the court decides their case".
Saqqaf, who herself is the descendants of Abydos natives who settled in the country in the 17th century, argued that their organization does not consider itself a political organization, although they have been in dialogue and offering advice to some of the organizations and activists behind the protests. "We plan to continue to promote change and equality for all through peaceful means", she insisted.
A complete interview with Mrs. Saqqaf will be released in our weekly podcast this weekend.
Mktvartvelo: Opposition lawmakers declare the breakdown of negotiations for the election of new Council of State members
MP Otar Nadiradze, one of the most senior members of the National Assembly, and one of the MPs who were selected in the parliamentary team to nominate the three indirectly elected members to the Council of State this year, has announced that he considers the negotiations to select and elect the three members as broken due "to the current political climate and the failure to fulfill their constitutional duties regarding law enforcement" in the present situation.
Prime Minister Bidzina Samkharadze's government was hopeful that the negotiations would be helpful to, as the largest political block in the National Assembly, to reduce the majority of the conservatives in the Council of State.
Veriko Gaprindashvili, Minister of Administrative Affairs, has declared that the parliamentary team would reconsider such position, which she declared as "irresponsible and institutionally an unjustified violation of parliamentary norms". She has also declared that she is confident that Speaker Ramaz Kintsurashvili would be able to mediate so a change of opinion which restore negotiations in the National Assembly in the coming weeks.
The Council of State, considered the Upper House of the Mktvartvelo's parliament, which currently has 129 members, have a total of 15 members undirectly elected by the majority of the National Assembly. Every year, between two or three of those members are replaced by a majority of National Assembly, following a process in which a list of candidates are nominated. Usually, the candidates are elected by a clear majority, following negotiations between the different parliamentary blocks and factions, in which the parliamentary leadership and the government try to find an acceptable agreement in regards of the composition of the parliament that year.