NGOs

Generally, it can be admitted that the Georgian legislation and practise gives the possibility for establishment and unimpeded functioning of NGOs. However, on many occasions NGOs are deliberately prevented from proper functioning on the part of state officials. This is manifested by throwing artificial obstacles in NGOs' way on specific issues. For example, it is often impossible for the NGOs dealing with the protection of the rights of prisoners, soldiers and other less protected groups to receive formal information on the issues being of interest to them or meet the individuals falling into the above categories. While great efforts taken regarding the drafting of the General Administrative Code at the material time (considerable sums have been committed to the project by the US government) and the Code was adopted almost two years ago, unfortunately it is less implemented in practice and is consequently less effective. At the same time, it is apparent that some political parties and groups have recently become more active with the view of obtaining influence over the NGOs. Regrettably like mass media, there also emerged the NGOs pursuing the interests of various political groups. It often happens so that the latter petition before the international organisations and foundations those NGOs that back their interests with the view of obtaining financing for them. Moreover, it can be considered a shortcoming of the Georgian legislation to fail to provide for encouraging articles for local business with the view of assisting NGOs. Stemming from the aforementioned there is hardly a space left for neutral, non-engaged and apolitical NGOs in social life of the country. For example an attitude of the first Georgian foundation "Horizon" financed from an American organisation USAID towards such an actual problem as is systematic violation of human rights at the places of temporary arrest. These places are still absolutely closed for civil society and third parties altogether. When after NGOs' numerous unsuccessful attempts there emerged a chance for conducting a monitoring in such places and a draft had been submitted to this end to the concur of "co-operation between non-governmental-governmental organisations" (a written consent in terms of conducting such a monitoring had been reached from the National Security Council of Georgia and the Ministry of Interior), the Committee of Grants Councillors rejected this initiative. The argumentation of rejection represents a sample of either biased or incompetent approach towards the issue. In particular, the members of the Committee of Grants Councillors of the Foundation "Horizon" consider that "under the Ordinance of the President every non-governmental organisation has a right to conduct transparency and monitoring in the cells of temporary arrests. Under the same Ordinance there is a governmental commission existed by the President regulating the aforementioned issues". Moreover, one of the members of the above committee, the Head of one of the Parliamentary Committees, adherent of so called "Reformers" ardently defended the absurd explanations invoked by the Committee while giving his oral elaboration. It is also to be asked why and how it come that the decision of the allocation of the grants to the non-governmental sector rests with the high officials (apart from the mentioned Head of the Parliamentary Committee an employee of the State Chancellery Mr. Zaza Piralishvili is also a member of the Committee consisting of five persons), what forces had lobbied their raising to the aforementioned committee? Then it is clear why they refer to the governmental commission existed by the President and why they seek to replace the civil monitoring with the commission operating within the officialdom. It is also apparent how biased and not-conversant the foundation committee is with regard the situation existed in the places of temporary arrest. They even do not know that such an Ordinance does not exist at all. We find it difficult to believe that the committee of the foundation cannot understand such elementary issues. We think that here an attempt to prevent the non-engaged and impartial NGOs from functioning if not to eradicate them is the case. If the above decision of "Horizon" is only a mistake of the committee of the foundation then their working style of is absolutely impermissible according to which the sitting is not entered upon the records. And neither there is any mechanism for redeeming the mistakes (i.e. rejection of the projects by the committee cannot be appealed by nobody before the foundation council or any other agency). And it is generally acknowledged that nobody can be insured from making mistakes but there should exist some body of appeals within the foundation. In short the established rule for allocation of grants does arouse some doubts in terms of the inexpediency of this allocation by the foundation being financed by American taxpayers.

Unfortunately, it is not the only example of an attempted "sinking" of the impartial NGOs. This has recently become frequent; The political forces endeavour to recruit those individuals in various foundations who would bring grants to exclusively those NGOs that are also engaged by the former.

Unfortunately, foreign ringleaders of these foundations neglect or connive at the aforementioned that can cause entire degradation, discredit and eventual destruction of non-governmental sector in future. Consequently, only those NGOs will evidently operate in Georgia that are only complementary to various political forces.

Increased aggression manifested on the part of state officials towards the Human Rights protection NGOs is to be mentioned separately. According to the opinion introduced by the former in the society the NGOs receive financing from foreign special agencies with the view of suppressing national values and represent their intelligence services in Georgia. There are cases of threatening and blackmailing certain representatives of NGOs (See Annex 1.).