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'No' Is Not An Answer-Global Policy Forum- NGOs 'No' Is Not An Answer
By Dlma Bit-Suleiman
NGO Net
Spring/Summer 2002
A recent un-civil society campaign by the Georgian government has left observers wondering what the future holds for NGOs. Undaunted, youth organizations carry on. One youth NGO in particular has become highly visible and influential in overcoming official roadblocks to develop constitutional and legal reform.
Leading Georgian NGO activists have expressed their "deepest concern" about a recent "wide-scale attack on democratic values and institutions." A statement issued May 17 claims that the Georgian government has adopted a policy of "rejection of democracy" which "could lead the country to autocratic governance or to insurrection and violence."
NGOs are Georgia's secret weapon, the only ammunition restraining the government from creating an uncivil society. NGOs make up the only sector over which government officials do not have control, especially important in financial operations. So worrisome is this to officials, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze once charged that Georgian NGOs might be supported by international terrorists. Shortly thereafter, the president demanded that Finance Minister Zurab Noghaideli and the Chamber of Control take stricter control over grants received by NGOs.
A draft Law on Grants and Humanitarian Assistance prepared on Shevardnadze's order by the Finance Ministry is currently under consideration. The law calls for the cancellation of the current law on grants, but fails to present new regulations, instead referring to nonexistent "relevant legislation" as binding policy.
Currently, NGOs must pay income and social taxes, reducing the amount of money available for programs by up to 25 percent. The measures effectively cancel the non-profit status, according to leading Georgian NGOS. Attracting donor assistance under these conditions is problematic. Complicating matters, pro-presidential political forces assume NGOs are "grant eaters" that deprive citizens of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Youth NGOs have become involved in what is considered to be largely a test of wills between the non-governmental and governmental sectors. They point out that the government rhetoric is no more than a hidden mea culpa to cover up for recent scandals over the handling of its own finances.
Giorgi Chkheidze of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) compares "this anti-grant movement" to policy of Belarusian President Lukashenko, whose country was forced out of the Council of Europe. "If our country continues like that, we'll be next."
The current test of wills is largely due to the government under-estimation of the power of civil society.
Following the collapse of the Soviet empire, the country's intellectual force accumulated in the non-governmental sector dominated by young people educated abroad. Their activities went unnoticed by a government pre-occupied with domestic and international intrigues in the 1990s. Suddenly, it seemed to officials, the strength and will of Georgian NGOs grew into a mammoth force to be reckoned with.
"Analytical skills, expertise, and professionalism are the main keys for successful development," explained Jaba Devdariani of the youth-oriented United Nations Association. "NGOs managed to find ways to get [scarce] information and analyze it. So, what used to occur in shadow, became transparent."
These qualities of the NGOs, in addition to their direct connections to international organizations, is widely believed to have annoyed the government this year, provoking an attempt to take control over NGOs activities.
The leaders of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association were involved in the development of the new law on grant awards. But it's members rely on programs that build both professional capacity among lawyers and the public's understanding of the law to counter government interference in civil society.
Since 1994 the association has supported the establishment of civil society based on law. Law students and young lawyers joined forces to contributed to constitutional and legal reform in Georgia. GYLA was also influential in developing the 1994 Georgian constitution, the law on ordinary courts, and elements of the judicial reform process. Parliamentary committees turn to GYLA for comments on draft bills.
GYLA has grown from 80 founders to 675 members, expected to remain active or lose their status. The organization has devised a strategic plan that establishes independent groups to carry on the legal consulting and training. Members hope to make progress on a legal training program and, eventually, an independent, accredited law school.
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