Hate Speech- Pre-Election Tool

Shorena Latatia

Throughout 2012 pre-election campaign, unfortunately several facts of so-called hate speech and xenophobia were observed from the side of political actors. In some cases, media acts as disseminator of similar statements and sometimes they are authors of those xenophobic statements.

“We will nationalize the forests and pastures misappropriated by foreigners; we will return land to Georgian peasants; we will replace English sign-boards and Turkish flags into Georgian ones; we will halt construction of Aziziye Mosque in Batumi; we will ban unlimited propaganda of homosexuals and religious sects,” several pre-election political advertisements of the political party Free Georgia with this message were disseminated in social networks and aired by TV-Companies (see one of the versions of their advertisement on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnDwZwehtbA&feature=plcp)

Scenes were also used in the video-clips alongside the aforementioned text. For example, when the presenter negatively speaks about foreigners we see Chinese workers in the clip. When he speaks about unlimited propaganda of homosexuals and religious sects, we see scenes of peaceful manifestation in support of LGBT people in Tbilisi on May 17.

This advertisement promotes ethnic or/and religious intolerance in the society and purposefully creates “enemy image.”

In accordance to the Article 45 of the Election Code of Georgia, pre-election clips of political parties shall not contain war and violence propaganda, shall not encourage national controversy and hostility, religious and ethnic conflict.

Based on the violation of this provision, on September 12, 2012 chairwoman of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, director of the Group Supporting Women’s Initiatives, chairman of the Public Movement “Multinational Georgia,” Episcope of Georgian Evangelist-Baptist Church, executive director of the Georgian LGBT and executive director of the Identoba filed administrative lawsuit to the Central Election Commission against Free Georgia.

CEC satisfied their complaint and forwarded it to the Administrative Case Collegium of the Tbilisi City Court for further reaction. The latter found Free Georgia guilty under Article 79 of the Election Code of Georgia and imposed fine of 2 000 lari on them based on its September 25 judgment.

Free Georgia evaluated the NGO statement as “Complaint of Pseudo-Liberal Nongovernmental Organizations” and appealed the City Court’s judgment at the Tbilisi Appeal Court.

The court clarified that disputable video-clip contained attempt of escalating national conflict, and encouraged ethnic and religious controversy.

Free Georgia’s appeal statement reads: “Analysis of existing practice shows that unlimited propaganda of religious sects really is very active in the country that breaches constitutional rights of citizens with different religions. Simultaneously, the funds allocated for the purchase of these tools are not transparent at all. Initiative of the political party Free Georgia aims to rule out equal regulations with regard to sects that were fixed for political parties by organic law of Georgia on Political Union of Citizens. As for nationalization of forests/pastures misappropriated by foreigners in the country, nationalization of agricultural plots are wide-spread practice in USA, European countries and worldwide in general. Similar approach to the issue is partly envisaged in Georgian legislation too.”

Appeal Court has not yet passed verdict on this case.

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