Member Info for Madpunter

Posted by Looed on the 19th July :-

Georgian American Alloys - a depressingly similar sounding story.
Pt.1

The recent statement by Iconia Capital references two other companies - FRR and Georgian American Alloys (GAA). This is a quick recap of their story.

About GAA - Georgian American Alloys, Inc. (“GAA”), headquartered in Miami, FL, manufactures and supplies high quality ferroalloys used in the manufacturing of iron and steel through wholly-owned US-based subsidiaries Felman Production, LLC, Felman Trading, Inc., and CC Metals and Alloys, LLC and its Georgian-based subsidiaries Georgian Manganese, LLC and Vartsikhe 2005, LLC. Georgian Manganese’s Zestafoni ferroalloy plant is a major producer of high-grade and regular-grade silicomanganese. Its Chiatura manganese mining operation includes seven mines and eight quarries. GAA employs approximately 6,000 persons in Georgia."

Then this happens -

"The Georgian have summarily expropriated operations of Georgian American Alloys, after the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia intervened to appoint the head of the private company. The move came after a Tbilisi city court verdict found that the company had created “grave ecological conditions” in a town in Georgia"

The Company responds -

The Company asserts that the environmental claims are based on unlawful, arbitrary and discriminatory application of Georgian environmental and other laws. The law does have a provision for a government mandated environmental administrator in extreme cases. However, in this case the court granted the environmental administrator control over all aspects of the company, including production,financial and Human Resources. The right to act in the place of the Management Supervisory Board and the Shareholders.

Alarm bells are raised -

The question raised is not just one of rule-of-law, and the potential abuse of power, but whether there can be at any point enough justification for seizing, via an ex parte order issued in one day, a multi-hundred million dollar investment based on alleged environmental harms that, according to Georgia’s own court submission in support of the Takeover Order, had been occurring for “several decades. But as Georgia edges closer to the European Union, with the EU-Georgia association agreement coming into force less than one year ago, the government intervention in a private company has raised alarm bells in Brussels.

Posted by bugsy-b on the 18th July :-

Block 12 license termination
It's been 1 month today since I asked GOGC if they could be so kind as to forward me a copy of the termination notice they have allegedly served on Frontera... Still not a word from them, So i know I'm not getting a reply...

I've had a dig around some Georgian sites looking for any info on termination notices, I found 3, None of which are for Frontera.. After all the flak received from GOGC & SAOG I'd have thought they'd have published the termination notice on their websites/FB pages, but nothing?..

Here's a recent termination notice from 14th May 2020 served to a company called Vake Natural Gas Distribution Ltd, You can see the format of the official notice with the Georgian crest on top..
https://gnerc.org/files/gadawyvetilebebi/2020/36-3.pdf

I had expected to find a similar style notice on Frontera somewhere but my searches have drawn a blank?...
All cloak and dagger stuff from the Georgians as usual..

On May 28th a Georgian guy asked the SAOG on their FB page the following..
"What's going on on block 12? Tender will probably be re-announced right?"...
SAOG replied with..
" license is valid until July 27 The agency will make a decision on tender announcement in accordance with Georgian law."

Make of that what you will....

Posted by Coggy on the 17th July :-
T minus 10
and counting.

Posted by Moleinahole on the 18th July :-

RE: T minus 10
If a termination notice has been issued and it applies to the block then unless it's withdrawn or challenged in court which you would think you would have to at least lodge proceedings before that date expires then it runs it's course and the contract will terminate.
That will be the default position. These are legal formalities and politics should not have any impact on that process.
Can this get punted down the road as late as October? I'm not so sure given the noise generated by Zaza that will be allowed to happen. 3 months is a long time to have to keep this spinning unresolved.
Meanwhile once we have no producing asset and given some of Zaza press comment it's not clear if we are producing at the moment it's a mystery how the company is not insolvent now. So it's likely they are getting some income but post 27th July that could all stop at which point it's not clear how the company functions to fight even the Outrider case.
So clock continues to run down if its unresolved then the next news we might get would more likely be either GG putting the block back for auction, enforcement by GG to get their costs back from arbitration and or activity in the US cases once the asset in dispute is lost.
Even excluding Outrider Frontera has $20m of other creditors which will range from banks to service providers and unpaid employees and I'll bet directors 'loans (their salary)'. No income will bring that to a head pretty quickly.
I'd expect to hear nothing but I wouldn't read that as a good result. We need the company to make a formal statement to shareholders but they have chosen to disregard the company articles over the past 2 years so would expect total silence to carry on. For those who think they need to do that while the battles are fought I disagree. The failure to follow basic norms since 2018 shows how desperate the situation must be and how low down the priority the shareholders are. Any turnaround from here will require a significant event to occur. Would not rule one out given the politics and intrigue but the odds are against one.

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :

Pt.2 (and final part)

“Less than four months before the legislative elections, the independence and pluralism of the media are essential for holding a democratic debate.

“We call on the authorities to immediately drop the criminal proceedings against Mtavari Arkhi and promote the reliability of the information rather than attempt to censor the content,” she said.

On July 15, Georgian lawmakers extended amendments to the Law on Public Health through the end of the year, allowing the government to impose restrictions without declaring the state of emergency.

Opposition parties and groups assert that by extending the amendments, the ruling Georgian Dream party is trying to use public health issue to gain control over the parliamentary elections.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee for health care and social issues, Dimitri Khundadze, who presented the amendments, said the decision to prolong the amendments was based on what he called a possible “more devastating” second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in the South Caucasus nation.

https://www.rferl.org/a/rsf-rips-georgia-dream-party-media-restrictions/30734365.html

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

RSF Blasts Georgian Ruling Party For Media Restrictions
Pt.1

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the Georgian parliament for what it calls measures “restricting media freedom” less than four months before legislative elections in the South Caucasus nation.

In a July 17 statement, the media watchdog accused the parliament -- led by the ruling Georgia Dream party -- of attempting to "control radio and television channels" under the guise of a “crusade against disinformation.”

“Reporters Without Borders denounces the attack on the independence and pluralism of the media,” the Paris-based organization said.

“A few months before an election deadline with high stakes, the atmosphere is stifling for the Georgian opposition media. Under the cover of the fight against disinformation, they are subject to increasingly strict legislation and to judicial pressure directly threatening their editorial choices,” it said.

Georgia ranks 60th out of 180 nations in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Georgians are set to vote in parliamentary elections in October, but lawmakers have approved several measures that have angered the opposition ahead of the vote.

Georgian Dream, led by billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, holds three-quarters of the legislature's seats, even though it won just under half of the popular vote, because of an election format that opposition parties insisted unfairly favored the ruling party.

RSF said an amendment to the law governing electronic communications, adopted on July 17, “shows a desire to control radio and television channels” by allowing the appointment of a “special manager” at the head of companies in the audiovisual sector.

RSF said the manager is authorized to “take control” of companies deemed to not be in compliance with the decisions of the National Communications Commission and has the right to appoint and dismiss managers.

It said the commission was originally designed to be a “strictly operational” organization but has “gradually seen its prerogatives extended to surveillance and censorship.”

RSF said the commission has recently tried to “discredit Netgazeti.ge and Batumelebi, two opposition media, accusing them of disinformation.””

The watchdog also cited the case of TV channel Mtavari Arkhi, led by opposition figure Giorgi Rurua.

Rurua was arrested on November 18 and charged with the illegal purchase, possession, and carrying a firearm, which he and his supporters have denied. Opposition parties insist that Rurua’s arrest was politically motivated.

RSF said the Georgian secret service has also accused Mtavari Arkhi journalists "in the context of an investigation for ‘sabotage’ to misinform the population and to discredit the power."

“The Georgian government must not interfere with the work of newsrooms," RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia office manager Jeanne Cavelier said.

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

This is the op-ed that Seth Char is responding to (you can go back and see the full piece which I posted 12th July)

https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/506889-georgia-strengthens-democracy-moves-closer-to-nato-with-us

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

Pt.3 (and final part)

I will lastly call into question Mr. Beraia’s motives in his attempts to undermine the cred-ibility of members of Congress such as Markwayne Mullin. Congressman Mullin and his col-leagues, on both sides of the political aisle in the U.S., have been nothing but fair and transparent in their analyses and readings of our complaints in Georgia. Yet, on multiple occasions, members of the Georgian government have shockingly referred to Congressman Mullin and other Congressmen as “paid lobbyists” for American companies operating in Georgia. I also find it offensive and inappropriate for a member of the Georgian Dream government to question the fidelity of U.S. Congressmen while citing an alarming source for his arguments against fellow U.S. investor Frontera Resources. This source, which Mr. Beraia seems to hold in high esteem, was authored by a well known radical leftist political agitator, who is an open Marxist, Commu-nist, and anti-American rhetorician: hardly the type of individual that a supposed “pro-U.S.” ally should be keeping in close proximity. In closing, I can only hope that in the next coming weeks, we receive a final court deci-sion from the Georgian Supreme Court which we expect and demand to be made with honesty, transparency, and under the standards of Georgian and international law. Following the court de-cision, we also hope and expect that the government of the Georgian Dream will provide the re-quired support and protection for us to continue and conclude our business in Georgia.In the days ahead, I ask that Mr. Beraia and his colleagues refrain from making false statements about the American investor experience in Georgia, and to support their assertions with credible sources.

Publishing blatantly false information and questioning the credibility of U.S. members of Congress does not serve the interests of U.S. - Georgia relations, and in fact, may eventually cause irreparable harm.

https://www.iconiacapital.com/important-updates/beyond-the-looking-glass-an-american-investors-rebuttal-to-irakli-beraias-misleading-july-11th-op-ed-in-the-hill

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

Pt.2

In addition, the only entryway to our construction site has been barricaded and blocked by our opponents: not once, but twice, which has allowed their illegal expropriation of our land to go on unchallenged. These same individuals have also delivered oral death threats and threats of physical violence against myself and our Georgian staff; these threats have been recorded and released to the public, with no attention or response from local law enforcement. Multiple oral and written complaints to the authorities have been met by little to no action, and in fact, several former and current government and court officials have gone on the record to protect the criminal acts of our opponents while opposing our legal rights to operate in the country: in violation of not only Georgian legal standards, but of international law under the 1994 U.S.-Georgia Bilateral Investment Treaty.

Before Mr. Beraia or others make the assumption that my motives are not purely to pro-tect the livelihoods of my Georgian staff and the capital of my American investors, I will note that I have gone on the record, several times, to give credit where credit is done on the part of theauthorities. The few supporters we have in the Georgian Dream are an unnamed Member of Parliament and the Mayor of Tbilisi himself, the venerable Kakha Kaladze. Unfortunately, two members of the government cannot themselves overhaul or contain an entire system that is rife with corruption, scandal, and dysfunction: whether it is to save one American investor from demise, or to protect similarly imperiled Western businesses in the same vein.In fact, I even went on the pro-government television station, Imedi, and explained that I fully support all efforts and moves from the Georgian Dream government to assist us in our case,and that we were fully prepared for cooperation with documentation, evidence, and materials backing our investment in Georgia. Instead, this government linked media channel produced a defamatory hit piece which removed these mentions and instead crafted a false narrative that in-sulted myself and our American investors. After this move, it became incredibly clear that a majority of the political system, and its media allies, have very little interest in justice or protection regarding American investors, and quite possibly anyone else.

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

Iconia Capital response to latest Govt. statement
Pt.1

“Beyond the looking glass, everything is not what it seems”

An American investor’s response to Irakli Beraia’s op-ed in The Hill

On July 11th, 2020, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Georgia, Mr. IrakliBeraia, wrote and published an op-ed in The Hill, a prominent American political publication. Throughout his piece, Beraia made several statements that unfortunately are not firmly rooted in fact and reality in Georgia. Within this publication, Mr. Beraia shared several opinions about the state of U.S. busi-ness in Georgia, referencing three companies (one by name): Frontera Resources, Iconia Capital LLC (my firm), and Georgian American Alloys. He went on to note, “[Congressman] Mullin cites two other companies successfully doing business in Georgia who actually won their legal appeals in Georgian courts a few years back. More than 300 American companies currently are doing business in Georgia, and the number is increasing because Georgia is an attractive busi-ness destination.”Firstly, as the CEO of Iconia Capital LLC, I have to correct Mr. Beraia’s assertion that our company is “successfully doing business in Georgia” and that we “won our legal appeals in Georgian courts a few years back.” These statements are unquestionably, and unfortunately, false.Iconia Capital LLC has been the subject of a multi-year, multi-pronged series of attacks since starting our first real estate development project in Tbilisi five years ago. Since March 2015, our business has been forcefully frozen and stopped by the will of our local opponents, who are backed by powerful figures in the Georgian administration and court apparatus. Con-trary to Mr. Beraia’s statements, Iconia Capital LLC has never been allowed to finish its project in the country, despite the fact that we have broken no Georgian laws or construction codes. To this day, the company continues to suffer, being that our first and only development is still under a court ordered freeze. Our case continues to be under appeal at the Supreme Court of Georgia, without a decision rendered, despite the fact that a decision was required under law to be delivered on June 14th last month.

Posted by Looed on the 18th July :-

Election news round-up
The GD will announce some of their candidates, and so maybe some of their election strategy on 20/07 -

"Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia to nominate majoritarian candidates on July 20"
https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108431-georgian-dream-democratic-georgia-to-nominate-majoritarian-candidates-on-july-20

The GD sees an apparently splintered opposition as a way to election success -

"Today, the Georgian Dream party is the only force in the country that actually has a chance to enter the parliament with a large majority without forming any coalition”, Kaladze said."
https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108425-kakha-kaladze-in-these-specific-polls-where-the-georgian-dream-has-39-of-support-the-first-figure-is-supposedly-a-mistake-and-there-should-probably-be-5-instead-of-3

The Opposition - which already has so many parties - rejects claims of a split by saying there will be even more 'entities' -

"According to Grigol Vashadze, Chairman of the United National Movement, the united opposition will not disintegrate and, on the contrary, new entities will join it."
https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108427-grigol-vashadze-denies-reports-on-leaving-chairmans-post-and-dissolution-of-the-united-opposition

Posted by Blownitalready on the 17th July :-

The attitude of the population towards political parties - Edison Research
According to Edison Research, the answers to the question of the population about their attitude towards this or that party are divided as follows:

For New Georgia (Giorgi Vashadze - Strategy Builder) - 36% positive; 64% negative;

European Georgia - Free Democrats - 35% positive; 65% negative;

Labor Party - 33% positive; 67% negative;

Georgian Dream - 33% positive; 67% negative;

Citizens (Aleko Elisashvili) - 32% positive; 68% negative;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNM - United Opposition - 29% positive; 71% negative;

Patriots Alliance - 29% positive; 71% negative;

Try - 27% positive; 73% negative;

Winner Georgia (Irakli Okruashvili) - 23% positive; 77% negative;

Free Georgia (Kakha Kukava) - 21% positive; 79% negative;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Democratic Movement United Georgia (Nino Burjanadze) - 21% positive; 79% negative;

Republican Party - 19% positive; 81% negative;

For Justice (Eka Beselia) - 17% positive; 83% negative;

Girch - 15% positive; 85% negative;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The poll was conducted by Edison Research, a reputable research company commissioned by Formula TV.

The survey was conducted from June 23 to July 13, using a face-to-face survey method. The study surveyed 2,000 people aged 18 and over living in Georgia across the country (excluding the occupied territories) by random sampling. The error of the results is + - 2.1%.

https://formulanews.ge/News/33560

Posted by Looed on the 17th July :-

While we wait for FRR news...Pompeo tweets twice about Nordstream 2
He really wants to get his point across -

"Activities related to the Kremlin's energy export pipelines are subject to U.S. sanctions - aiding and abetting Russia’s malign influence projects will not be tolerated. 9:09 PM · Jul 16, 2020"

"To firms and investors involved with the Nordstream 2 pipeline: Get out now or risk the consequences. 9:48 PM · Jul 16, 2020"

https://twitter.com/SecPompeo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Re-reading the letter from Cruz etc to Pompeo
We have seen the GD brush aside the recent Sanctions Bill and associated comments citing various western friendly initiatives such as NATO membership, strong Georgia-USA ties etc as "good enough" reasons to reject claims as lobbying.

The letter to Pompeo from Ted Cruz and the other senators (25th May), brimming with accusations of state-level corruption, predicted these same talking points. They had already decided they where "not good enough" when they wrote at the end of the letter -

"Georgia is a strategic partner in the Caucasus and an aspiring NATO ally. Militarily, the Georgians have provided resources to our mission in Afghanistan. Geographically, the country offers a critical route for trade and energy from the Caspian Sea to Eastern Europe. A robust U.S.-Georgian partnership is a necessity for American interests, which in turn requires Georgia to return to and bolster good governance.

The entangled geo-strategic and business interests call for a broad response from the federal government and, as always, we stand ready to provide you with the resources that you need to assert and defend American national security."
https://www.cruz.senate.gov/files/documents/Letters/2020.05.15%20-%20Letter%20to%20DoS%20and%20Treasury%20on%20Georgia.pdf

GD is going to have to try a bit harder!

Posted by Blownitalready on the 16th July :-

In Georgia, most trust Ukraine and the United States, less - Russia - Edison Research
No real suprises here but i think it bodes well for getting the dream party kicked out at election time...... (my view)

The population of Georgia trusts Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom the most, and Russia the least.

More specifically, according to a survey conducted by Edison Research, 93% of the population say they trust Ukraine; US - 92%; Great Britain - 90%; Israel - 85%; Turkey - 74%; Azerbaijan - 73%; Armenia - 68; Iran - 56.

Only 28% say they trust Russia, while 72% say the opposite.

The poll was conducted by Edison Research, a reputable research company commissioned by Formula TV.

The survey was conducted from June 23 to July 13, using a face-to-face survey method. Within the framework of the study, 2000 people aged 18 and over living in Georgia were randomly selected. The error of the results is + - 2.1%.

https://formulanews.ge/News/33526

Posted by Jonathansxx on the 16th July :-

Do you think this might have had something do do with that result?

https://www.euronews.com/2018/08/07/europe-s-forgotten-war-the-georgia-russia-conflict-explained-a-decade-on

Posted by EkXoc on the 16th July :-

Russians
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53433523

Does this sound at all familiar?
"In a written statement, Mr Raab said that the documents were "illicitly acquired before the 2019 general election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit".

I wonder if SR was the first to get hold of the documents and read them that time as well?

"When these gained no traction, further attempts were made to promote the illicitly acquired material online in the run up to the general election."
The leaked ARb rubbish didn;t gain any traction either

"A criminal investigation is under way about how the documents were acquired."

Posted by Earsbern on the 16th July :-

RE: New Court Filing
I don't really understand all the pessimism around here.
The trial in California has now taken an enormously positive turn for FRR. It now sounds very, very much like they have evidence and witnesses to back up their case against Hope for breaches of fiduciary duties when Hope was a director of Frontera (see clause 8 of FRR attorney Mr Vine's statement from my 14.36 posting of 04/07/20). If they have evidence to prove that Hope deliberately prevented FRR from obtaining funds which would have enabled FRR to repay their debt to OMF, then Hope was in blatant breach of his fiduciary duties, as he drove FRR into failure to pay that debt. (N.B. It is also a breach of fiduciary duties for a director to place himself into a conflict of interest between himself and his charge).
Because Hope's illegal anti-fiduciary behaviour has caused FRR to be in a position of debt, then surely any actions against FRR by Hope and his gang which are the result of that illegal action (the liquidation, the court case for shares, etc.) are themselves unlawful and will therefore be cancelled.
If the evidence mentioned earlier is forthcoming, then FRR's fiduciary claim against Hope/OMF (was it for 56 or 65 million dollars? - it was a lot, anyway) also looks to be very firmly in play. And Hope/OMF would also be responsible for paying all the legal bills for the various cases too (does Hope's legal insurance cover him for illegal activities? A moot point, but it almost certainly wouldn't cover the damage payments).
As I said on a previous occasion - things are looking much more hopeful, at least in America. Just that little problem in Georgia to be settled. After the election?

Posted by Earsbern on the 16th July :-

Posted by Madpunter on the 15th July :-

Quitting the Shorting Game
One of Europe’s Longest-Running Hedge Funds Is Quitting the Shorting Game
Lansdowne Partners is winding down its main long-short fund, emphasizing long-only investments and launching a new long-only fund.
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1md1phhxw7v11/One-of-Europe-s-Longest-Running-Hedge-Funds-Is-Quitting-the-Shorting-Game

There maybe a few more come November.

Posted by Contra on the 15th July :-

It is not hard to imagine a scenario where certain people in the GD who have a tendency towards corruption in order to accumulate wealth have conspired with others to pressurize Frontera . As examples, short selling nonexistent shares to depress the share price, then an attempt to take over and liquidate the company to capture the value of Block X11 with what aim?, to pass it over to friends of Russia in the GD?.

All this happened in one form or another. For Frontera to have survived this far, as well as the arbitration process and a continuing action against Outrider in California is little short of a miracle. They must know where at least some of the incriminating bodies are buried - Bring it on, let's get this done!

Posted by CF73 on the 15th July :-

Am with Contra on this.

GD wanted to sink FRR, pure and simple. If anything, without our US contacts weighing in as they have, at this moment, we would be sunk already (and am not sure there was an earlier time to leverage this political support, as previously we were still running the gauntlet of whatever due process and then waiting on GD to abide by the outcome of the Arbitration).

GD chronically corrupted. I wouldn't be surprised if they had something to do with the Arbitration Leak to TW and the shorting scrotii. Used to seem that Arbi. wrangle with GG/ GG was a wholly separate from Hope, TW etc, that they were two distinct issues. But am not sure so any more.

GD have made Georgia uninvestable. The Georgian people are learning this, to their horror and embarrassment (at least I hope).

Posted by Moleinahole on the 15th July :-

The people who have lost with Frontera are the investors. To the tune of $500m+. That list includes shareholders and bondholders - including Outrider who probably wish they had never tried to engineer a takeover here now by buying distressed debt. However, the $500m had hansomely lined the pockets of employees (till the coffers were empty at end of 2018), contractors, financiers (including YA) and professional advisers from Nomads to auditors and competent persons. Then it has provided a mechanism for shorters and the prophets of doom to profit.
The other big loser to date has been the Georgian state and hence its people. Whilst I suspect Zaza has little choice now but to fight a political battle this is not where we should be.
I have to say we have not seen the big reveal of the alleged interference and obstruction of operations by the GG yet. If such obstruction had occurred the place to argue was at the arbitration.
Whilst we can't be sure of all the circumstances around the arbitration Fronteras problems have in the main revolved around securing funds to drill the deeper wells and that in itself has been due to geology not in my opinion the GG obstruction. Georgia Dream are a recent phenonemon and whilst clearly via their leader having a closer association to Russia than the former UDM party would ever have contemplated its my opinion that the GG are being opportunistic in mugging Frontera via the arbitration having taken advantage of the weakness the company has endured since 2008 financial crisis and subsequent difficult commodity investment climate in small oil and gas. That is why we have not been able to explore to retain the 99%.
The other loss is potentially a political one. If you are going to play on the stage of international politics then it would be advisable to be operating in a well structured and disciplined fashion. For me Frontera has deviated from the path they should have been following. What should have happenned is that the investment in political and financial contacts should have resulted both in robust hands off support from US and either a significant funding offer from friends or insititutions sympathetic to the underlying objectives in Georgia or investment from a major. To date that has not happenned and Frontera as the finance remained tight instead came to rely on us - the small PI investors to keep them going.
The problem is that the Nov 2017 date and the other PSA dates have long been known. We find ourselves now 12 days from probable termination of the license of the company only real asset and still fighting our bondholder in court in US.
That is possibly our best avenue for recovering funds - but it turns out the company own insurance policy is being used to fund Outriders and Hopes defence!
If there is to be another act or an encore to this show then its fast approaching a moment of truth.

Posted by Looed on the 15th July :-

"Government will be entitled to take restrictive measures"
The power to restrict mobility and stop gathering could impact the election.

"Government will be entitled to take restrictive measures without declaring national emergency until the end of 2020

The Parliament has approved the amendment in Law on Public Health according to which, the government becomes entitled to take restrictive measures without declaring a national emergency until the end of 2020.

According to the amendment, the government will have the right to take quarantine measures such as restricting mobility, economic activity, limiting the right of proprietorship, gathering, labor, etc., until January 1 2021 instead of 15 July."

https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/108386-government-will-be-entitled-to-take-restrictive-measures-without-declaring-national-emergency-until-the-end-of-2020

Posted by keysersoze on the 14th July :-

Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili: I think that getting rid of pro-Russian government in Georgia is in the interest of Ukraine and Ukrainian people

Head of Executive Committee of Reforms Council of Ukraine and a former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, states that removing a pro-Russian government of Georgia will be beneficial for Ukraine, - reports InterFax-Ukraine.

"I think that getting rid of the pro-Russian government in Georgia is in the interest of Ukraine and Ukrainian people. However, this is my personal opinion. I'm not expressing the position of a President or anyone else, because I'm not a public official. This is my personal, firm position", - stated Saakashvili.

Saakashvili also emphasized that a Georgian will never stop being Georgian, even if s/he's a Ukrainian patriot with a Ukrainian passport.

Posted by bugsy-b on the 14th July :-

Russian meddling starting ?
"Suspicious Georgian accounts come for Twitter
Anti-Western Georgian actors are moving to Twitter — along with suspicious dormant accounts" Jul 14 · 6 min read

"After U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger took to Twitter to reprimand the Georgian government publicly for its lack of commitment to democratic values, suspicious Twitter accounts seemingly based in Georgia accused the congressman of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs. One particularly prominent account appeared to be associated with a Facebook page called “Anti-liberal doctrine,” which is known to spread pro-Russian, anti-Georgian opposition, and anti-Western content"

https://medium.com/dfrlab/suspicious-georgian-accounts-come-for-twitter-70d47f27b7fd