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OC Media
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- OC Media
5 Days of War — an offensively bad depiction of the August 2008 War
Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member ★☆☆☆☆ Renny Harlin's film combines the worst elements of Hollywood action-movie cliches along with a substanceless explanation of the events themselves. There's so much wrong with Renny Harlin's 2011 film about the August 2008 War – entitled 5 Days of War — it's hard to even know where to begin. But, of course, neither does the movie, which starts with an odd and out-of-place scene in Iraq when the film's star — Thomas Anders, a two dimensional trope of a grizzled war journalist played by Rupert Friend — is rescued from faceless jihadis by heroic Georgian soldiers. Relying on tired action movie tropes and clearly biased depictions of the brave Georgian warriors, it feels like propaganda right off the bat. And, of course, that's because it is. On its face, without being familiar with the politics of the region, it is perplexing why the movie was even made, and how it managed to get relatively big names — such as Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia, and Heather Graham — to feature in it. 5 Days of War was in part financed by members of Georgia's former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, which was in power both at the time that the war occurred and when the film was released, and which had a stake in presenting its own narrative about the conflict to the West. Advertisement It is no surprise that the movie has zero nuance in its black-and-white depiction of Georgia, the good, against Russia, the evil, and of then-President Mikheil Saakashvili (played by Garcia in a thankless role) as an unequivocally heroic figure, ignoring his many controversies. Ironically, some of the most overtly propagandistic elements of the film are also some of the only parts that ring true today, against the backdrop of Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Early on in the movie, Anders, who airdrops into Georgia ahead of the outbreak of fighting, struggles with Western indifference to what is happening, and is baffled that Western media uncritically repeats Russian propaganda and talking points from then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Many have argued that the West's tepid response to Russia's aggression against Georgia paved the way for Moscow to do the same in Ukraine, first in 2014 and then again in 2022. Besides this extremely brief foray into actually making a good point, the film's explanation of the real-world events surrounding the war is delivered in a 20-second exposition dump by Anders, the American journalist. Keeping in line with the superficial nature of the movie, the description of the circumstances that lead to the outbreak of fighting contains about zero nuance. It's not just that the film failed as a propaganda piece — its cartoonishly evil stereotypical Russian villains (or 'Cossacks' for that matter) felt straight out of the Red Scare era of the 1950s — it's also just a straight up bad movie. The bulk follows Anders and his fellow foreign journalists, who in classic Hollywood-style get to be the heroes of the story, overshadowing the Georgian characters. The film launches into the conflict quickly, with Russian forces bombing the scene of a festive Georgian wedding, and Anders rescuing a local woman, Tatia, played by the very non-Georgian actress Emannuelle Chriqui. For some reason, almost all of the Georgian and Russian characters are played by non-Georgian and Russian actors. When they speak in English, which they mercifully do more than struggling to speak Georgian or Russian, they use the standard Russian-type movie accent that bears little resemblance to the one that actual Georgians or Russians often have. This includes Saakashvili and his team, which are inexplicably played by American and British actors, speaking in English to each other but occasionally saying a few words in horribly accented Georgian. It all makes for a confusing and rather irritating approach, and leads to numerous scenes in which the screenwriters clearly use deus ex machina plot devices to spare the actors (and the audience) from using Georgian or Russian. The language issue is really symbolic of one of the biggest issues with the movie — for a film about a war between Russia and Georgia, there are almost no Russian or Georgian actors in it, or at least none with actual speaking roles. Even as characters, the American and British journalists take centre stage, alongside the extremely Americanised Tatia, who explains her complete lack of an accent by saying she studied in the US. The remainder of the film follows Anders and his team as they race to get footage of Russian war crimes to Western media, borrowing a bizarre trope from other films in which there is a belief the West would actually do something about foreign conflicts if they knew atrocities were being committed (Behind Enemy Lines anyone?). I won't spoil the plot, but needless to say there's plenty of last-minute rescues, severed limbs and spurting blood, missiles being fired into buildings, and cool guys not looking at explosion moments. It's all very trite and predictable. Surprisingly, the movie concludes with an actual, real moment of pathos, with a series of clips of Georgians speaking about how their loved ones were killed during the war. It provides some real-world grounding to what is otherwise an utterly awful film, but also almost feels cheap tacked on to the very end of the shoot-em up spectacle. Film details: 5 Days of War (2011), directed by Renny Harlin, is available to stream on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime. For our culturally curious readers: a free, biweekly selection of film, book, and music recommendations from the Caucasus. Our team offers a varied selection of hidden gems, cherished classics, and notable new releases from all over the region, included in our newsletter.
OC Media
a day ago
- Politics
- OC Media
Georgian Education Minister resigns, to be replaced Georgian Dream MP who formerly served under UNM
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Georgian Education Minister Aleksandre Tsuladze has resigned after almost nine months in office. He will be replaced by Givi Mikanadze, a Georgian Dream MP and former deputy minister during the tenure of the former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party. Tsuladze, who has held his post since October 2024, did not explain the reasons behind his resignation, which he announced via a Facebook post on Monday. He highlighted 'many important initiatives' implemented during his tenure and thanked Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other cabinet members for their cooperation. Soon after Tsuladze's announcement, Kobakhidze announced that Mikanadze would become the eighth education minister under Georgian Dream's rule. Until recently, Mikanadze served as the head of the Education Committee of the Georgian Parliament. Moreover, he has lectured at various Georgian universities and served as rector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy from 2016 to 2018. Kobakhidze stated that considering Mikanadze's professional experience, he's an 'ideal candidate' for the ministerial position. Mikanadze's experience, highlighted by the Prime Minister, included a senior government role during the UNM's time in power (2003–2012), which Georgian Dream has often labeled a 'criminal regime'. From 2005 to 2008, he served as deputy minister of justice, overseeing reforms in the penitentiary system, according to a ministry press release at the time. UNM has faced multiple objections by critics — including Georgian Dream — over its management of this system, particularly regarding the treatment of prisoners. One of the most notable events during Mikanadze's tenure as deputy minister was the 2006 prisoner uprising at Tbilisi's #5 prison, where a special operation carried out by the Penitentiary Department resulted in the deaths of seven inmates. After Georgian Dream came to power, the then-head of the department, Bacho Akhalaia, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison over the case. In 2024, the opposition party For Georgia revived the issue of the uprising and called on the Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation against Mikanadze, who was by then a Georgian Dream MP. Responding to the criticism, Mikanadze denied any involvement in the decision-making process related to the 2006 special operation, stating that he was on a business trip the day the prison uprising began. Advertisement Mikanadze also emphasised that he had never been a member of UNM and joined the ministry after working at an international organisation, noting his involvement in OSCE and EU projects. In 2023, the opposition party Lelo also reminded Mikanadze of his tenure under the UNM. In response, he said he is 'not ashamed' of that episode in his biography and that he was doing his job at the time. Mikanadze also asserted that he left the ministry after 7 November 2007, when the then-government violently dispersed opposition rallies. In response, opposition leader Nika Gvaramia, who previously had been appointed Minister of Justice in January 2008, called Mikanadze's claim 'complete nonsense', stating that he himself had dismissed Mikanadze from the position as deputy minister. Georgian Dream, which established a parliamentary commission in February with the declared goal to punish the UNM, is often reminded by critics that relevant people could include individuals in its own ranks who either held official positions during the former government or supported the UNM, including through financial donations. Another member of Kobakhidze's cabinet, the recently-appointed Minister of Internal Affairs Gela Geladze, also held various posts during that period, including investigator at the Tbilisi Main Department of the Interior Ministry in 2005, deputy head of a division in the ministry's Criminal Police Department from 2005 to 2006, and deputy head of the mandate service at the Ministry of Education and Science from 2010 to 2012. In recent months, there have been numerous personnel changes within the Georgian government and state agencies. Among others, Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze, and Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili have stepped down from their positions.
Civil.ge
2 days ago
- Politics
- Civil.ge
Nika Gvaramia Sentenced to Eight Months in Prison for Defying Tsulukiani Commission
Tbilisi City Court Judge Jvebe Nachkebia on July 1 sentenced Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, to eight months in prison for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission – the Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative body, chaired by GD veteran Tea Tsulukiani and tasked with probing the alleged crimes committed by former officials. Nika Gvaramia has thus become the seventh person – and sixth opposition figure – sentenced to prison for defying the GD commission's summonses, following Nika Melia , Givi Targamadze , Giorgi Vashadze , Mamuka Khazaradze , Badri Japaradze , and Zurab Japaridze . Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili remains in pretrial detention, anticipating a similar verdict. All who have received prison sentences have also had their right to hold office stripped for two years. Gvaramia, who has been in pretrial detention since June 16 after refusing to pay court-imposed bail, did not attend today's ruling, following others' examples from recent weeks. The ruling was delivered without media coverage, as new legislative changes passed last week by the GD parliament – banning journalists from filming, photographing, or live broadcasting from court premises without prior consent – have come into force. Nika Gvaramia served as Deputy Prosecutor General, Justice Minister, and Education Minister between 2007 and 2009 under the UNM government. From 2012 to 2019, he was director of the opposition-leaning Rustavi 2 channel. In 2022, Gvaramia was imprisoned after being found guilty of abuse of power related to Rustavi 2 management, but in June 2023, President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned him. After his release, Gvaramia entered politics in early 2024, co-founding the Ahali party with Nika Melia. The Ahali-led Coalition for Change won the majority of opposition votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which the opposition claims were rigged. The coalition then revoked their mandates, has boycotted the GD parliament since, and now strongly opposes participating in the local elections scheduled for October 2025. The Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative commission , chaired by GD veteran and former Justice and Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani, was initially formed to probe alleged misconduct under the UNM government. Over time, however, it extended its scope to the present day, summoning GD critics, including some who had never been with the UNM. The opposition has refused to appear before the commission, refusing to cooperate with the one-party parliament they consider illegitimate. Former GD Interior Minister and Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, now the leader of the opposition For Georgia party, was the only exception who agreed to testify , while maintaining that his appearance did not amount to legitimizing the rump parliament, which his party has also been boycotting. Giorgi Gakharia has been resummoned by the commission over the Chorchana episode, which the Prosecutor's Office is investigating as 'sabotage.' Currently in Germany, Gakharia offered to testify remotely, to which the Tsulukiani Commission ultimately agreed. The session is scheduled for July 2. Gakharia's party member said his return to Georgia remains undecided due to 'many factors.' Alongside Gakharia, other opposition figures – Nika Gvaramia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Giorgi Vashadze – were also summoned again, with their testimonies meant to be heard online from prison on June 30. However, they again defied the summonses and did not appear. The commission asked the Prosecutor's Office to open investigations into their renewed defiance. Non-compliance with the Georgian Parliament's temporary investigative commission is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine or up to one year in prison, alongside a ban on holding public office for up to three years. However, the court has not fined anyone and opted for prison sentences. The commission has addressed topics such as alleged human rights abuses, including in prisons and the alleged business racketeering under the UNM rule, as well as the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former administration and imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. It is also looking into activities from 2012 to 2025 that it claims undermined Georgia's foreign policy interests. On June 25, the GD parliament once again extended the commission's mandate until August 5. Tsulukiani, addressing the GD MPs at the plenary session, said the final report of the commission will be 'the gravest' in its assessments. Georgian Dream says that the commission's final report will be submitted to the country's Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its 'successor parties.' Also Read:
OC Media
5 days ago
- Politics
- OC Media
Two more Georgian politicians receive monthslong prison sentences
Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Tbilisi City Court has jailed opposition leader Nika Melia and a retired opposition figure, GIvi Targamadze, for failing to appear before a parliamentary commission created to investigate the opposition. Nika Melia, the cofounder of the opposition Ahali party, was sentenced to eight months, while former United National Movement (UNM) MP Givi Targamadze received seven months. Both verdicts were announced a few hours apart on Friday. Melia was already in pretrial detention at the time of his sentencing for refusing to pay the bail set by the court in the same case. He did not attend Friday's court hearing. Targamadze, who paid his bail, had remained free until now. He also did not attend the hearing; instead, he went to the police station near his home, where he was handcuffed after the verdict was announced in the courtroom. 'We will inevitably win. In my view, it will happen sooner than I previously thought', added Targamadze as he arrived at the police station, describing the Georgian Dream government as an 'openly occupational regime'. Targamadze retired from politics in 2021, after having served as a UNM MP during its time in power and after Georgian Dream defeated them in 2012. He later joined European Georgia, a party that split off from the UNM, which he left in 2021. Targamadze has been wanted by Russia since 2013 on charges of attempting to organise mass unrest in Moscow. In October 2016, his car was blown up in central Tbilisi. Targamadze and his driver, who were there, survived. Later, the politician claimed that the explosives had been set jointly by Georgian and Russian security services. Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs only announced an arrest of a suspect linked to the bombing in 2024. On Friday, Targamadze suggested that his detention was 'an order of Russia'. A total of eight people have been detained for failing to appear before Georgian Dream's parliamentary commission, which targets the opposition. Of those, six have already been sentenced, while two — another leader of the Ahali party, Nika Gvaramia, and former Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili — are in pretrial detention awaiting their verdicts. Before Targamadze and Melia, Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party, was sentenced to seven months on Tuesday. Previously, on Monday, the court sentenced Girchi — More Freedom leader Zurab Japaridze to seven months in prison on the same charges. Just a few hours later, Lelo leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were given eight months each. The sentences also included a ban from holding public office for two years. Georgia's fifth president Salome Zourabichvili previously described the arrest of opposition politicians as a 'sign of weakness' from the government and the beginning of its end. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze once again attacked the opposition with conspiratorial rhetoric, referring to the detainees as 'agents' of the 'deep state'. The anti-UNM commission The commission was set up in February ostensibly to investigate the UNM's time in power, following repeated pledges by Georgian Dream to punish the formerly ruling party. Initially, its mandate was limited to the UNM's years in government (2003–2012), but it was later expanded to cover the period up to the present day — effectively giving Georgian Dream free reign to target virtually any opposition figure. Numerous opposition figures have boycotted the commission, refusing to recognise its legitimacy, as well as that of the current parliament, which has also been boycotted by major opposition parties following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections. Criminal cases were launched against those who refused to attend the commission's hearings — if found guilty, those charged could be fined or sentenced to up to a year in prison. They could also be banned from holding public office or engaging in certain activities for up to three years. On Monday, during an interview with the pro-government TV channel Rustavi 2, the commission chair, Georgian Dream MP Tea Tsulukiani, did not rule out filing a second complaint against the detained opposition politicians. According to her, the commission has summoned Khazaradze and Gvaramia for questioning again, and if they do not participate from prison, 'it would probably come as no surprise to anyone if we are obliged to send this second failure-to-appear case back to the Prosecutor's Office'. Georgian Dream has openly declared that it intends to use the findings of the parliamentary commission to file a case with the Constitutional Court seeking to ban the country's main opposition parties — a promise the ruling party made to its voters ahead of the 2024 elections. The ruling party has maintained that all major opposition groups operating in the country are satellites of the UNM and should no longer be allowed to exist.
OC Media
5 days ago
- Politics
- OC Media
Georgian Dream MP proposes harsher legislation for defamation
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Georgian Dream has adopted new legislative amendments, including restrictions on freedom of speech, in their final reading. During the parliamentary discussion, ruling party MP Tea Tsulukiani called for an even harsher approach — adding defamation back to the criminal code. It took only two days for the parliament, fully controlled by Georgian Dream and its satellites, to vote on the amendments for three hearings by an accelerated procedure, with the final vote held on Thursday. The new legislation will shift the burden of proof in cases of defamation and libel from the plaintiff to the defendant. Moreover, Georgian Dream gave the bill a retroactive effect, meaning the legislation will also apply the statements made 100 days prior to its enactment. In addition to the amendments already adopted, Tsulukiani proposed during the second reading that defamation should be considered an aggravating circumstance under the criminal code. Tsulukiani, who chairs the parliamentary commission against the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, again attacked the UNM, stating that defamation was removed from the criminal code by then-President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2003 Rose Revolution. 'It was not only needed to label people according to his [Saakashvili] considerations, but, for example, all those who were brutally killed [during the UNM period] were accompanied by defamation', she said. Davit Matikashvili, Chair of the Parliamentary Procedural Committee, responded to Tsulukiani, saying that 'We would be happy to consider [this proposal] with you, and if there is willingness, we can actively discuss it'. Advertisement Currently, defamation is regulated by the law on freedom of speech and expression — the very legislation that Georgian Dream amended on Thursday. Under the current law, defamation is handled as a civil dispute. If found liable, the defendant may be required to retract their statement or pay compensation for material or moral damages suffered by the claimant. In recent months, Georgian Dream has passed other laws that restrict forms of expression that had not previously been punishable. One such law prohibits insulting officeholders, under which numerous politicians, journalists, and activists have been penalised and some even imprisoned. Less media in courts, increased salary for judges Alongside the law on freedom of expression, Georgian Dream has also proposed amendments to the law on courts. The changes covered a range of issues, including strict new limitations on journalists' coverage of trials and an increase in judges' salaries. The now-passed amendments will prohibit filming inside court buildings — including courtrooms and hallways, as well as courtyards. The only exceptions will be for court employees or individuals authorised by the court. If a third party wishes to record video or audio of a court proceeding, they must obtain a permission from the High Council of Justice for each specific court session. Another amendment would toughen the provision regulating contempt of court. Under the current law, punishable acts of contempt include those committed by parties to the case, participants, or others present in the courtroom. Under the amendments initiated by the ruling party, such conduct would become punishable in any context, including outside the courtroom and in public spaces. The proposal also specifies that contempt will be punishable in 'any form', including 'verbal' expression. The ruling party introduced the legislative amendments in parallel with the court hearings of individuals detained during the ongoing anti-government protests. These proceedings are being widely covered by independent and government-critical media outlets and the decisions of the judges, widely considered by critics as politically motivated, often sparked public outrage. Among other changes, the amendments also increased judges' salaries so that each judge's monthly pay would exceed ₾10,000 ($3,700) per month — a salary that significantly exceeds the average monthly pay for most Georgians. The raise would also apply to judges under international sanctions for undermining the rule of law in Georgia and engaging in corruption.
