Opposition European Georgia urges advertising company Alma to put up banners
The ‘bloody’ banners were removed from all locations in Georgia after the municipal elections on October 2 took place. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The opposition European Georgia party has demanded advertising company Alma put up their banners and to fulfil the terms of their contract.
European Georgia wants to place the banners where the billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili is depicted as a pig. The billboard calls on Georgian citizens ‘not to become an animal farm and stop being understanding’ in a reference to the George Orwell novel Animal Farm.
Today is the last day of these banners to be put up in several locations in Tbilisi but they [Alma] have done nothing for it and they are trying to hide,” the party leader Giorgi Noniashvili stated earlier today.
The party pledges to ‘create inconvenience, both legally and otherwise’ if the company does not comply with the terms of the agreement.
Alma announced yesterday that it will ‘not put up hate speech banners’ and addressed the Georgian parliament on October 3 with an initiative to ban hateful advertisements.
The company also noted in its statement that such a decision might lead to ‘legal proceedings against the company,’ however, Alma says that their ‘decision is final in relation to any subject.’
However, Noniashvili said that ‘Alma's initiative is insincere and only serves to maintain its reputation.’
Anti-opposition ‘bloody’ billboards appeared in Tbilisi on September 17 ahead of the October 2 municipal elections which depicted opposition political leaders and managers of opposition-minded TV channels.
Several complaints were filed in the Central Election Commission (CEC) over the billboards, however, the CEC found no legal basis for drawing up a violation report on the placement of anti-opposition banners.
The ‘bloody’ banners were removed from all locations in Georgia after the municipal elections on October 2 took place.
The Georgian parliament’s committee on legal affairs has supported the appeal of advertising company Alma to ban hateful advertisements earlier today. Based on Alma’s legislative proposal, the electoral code or other legislative acts should be amended in order to restrict or prohibit the placement of hate speech banners in self-governing cities and municipalities.
Advertising company Alma has announced that it will ‘not put up hate speech banners’ and addressed the Georgian parliament with an initiative to ban hateful advertisements. Billboards depicting the opposition as ‘bloody’ appeared on September 17 in Tbilisi ahead of the October 2 municipal elections which depicted opposition political leaders, including former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and the media managers of two opposition-minded TV channels Nika Gvaramia and Nodar Meladze from Mtavari Arkhi and TV Pirveli.
The Georgian State Audit Office has launched an investigation to find out who stands behind ‘bloody’ billboards depicting opposition politicians. The billboards depicting opposition politicians, including ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and UNM mayoral candidate Nika Melia, say: ‘No to Natsis [a short, often derogatory form of the opposition UNM), No to evil, No to betrayal’.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of Georgia has called on advertising company ALMA to restore Covid-19 vaccination banners which were replaced by anti-opposition political billboards on September 17. The NCDC states that the advertising company did not notify the body regarding the change of the banners, noting that the replacement of their banners ‘was possible only with the prior agreement of the parties.’
Political movement Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria, who is the united opposition’s joint candidate for the City Council (Sakrebulo) chair in the upcoming local elections, has filed a complaint in the Central Election Commission (CEC) over billboards which portray opposition politicians as ‘bloody.’ The billboards feature opposition political leaders, including former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia who resigned earlier this year and the media managers of two opposition-minded TV channels Nika Gvaramia and Nodar Meladze from Mtavari Arkhi and TV Pirveli which reads: ‘No to Natsis (referring to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party), No to evil, No to betrayal.’
The European Georgia opposition party sues advertising company Alma for violation of the terms of their contract and refusal to put up the party’s banners. European Georgia wanted to display banners in which the billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is depicted as a pig. The billboard calls on Georgian citizens ‘not to become an animal farm’, a reference to the George Orwell novel Animal Farm.
The opposition European Georgia party has presented its vision of overcoming the current political crisis in the country, stating that the solution lies in the defeat of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party via snap elections.