Georgia: Thousands demonstrate against the government
Tbilisi: Thousands of members of the opposition demonstrated against the government in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Sunday, accused of stepping backwards towards democracy. A rally was organized by the country's main opposition - United National Movement (UNM) - as protesters gathered in front of Georgia's parliament to extend their support. The party was founded by imprisoned ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili.
The demonstrators held a huge banner that read "For the future of Europe" and waved Georgian, Ukrainian and EU flags as part of the protest. The crowd chanted "Long live Misha!" referring to his diminutive of Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power - a conviction international rights groups have condemned as politically motivated. Doctors have said the pro-Western reformer is at risk of death due to a litany of serious conditions he developed in prison.
The government of the ruling Georgian Dream party has been accused of jailing opponents, silencing independent media, colluding with the Kremlin and stalling the country on its path to EU membership. UNM leader Levan Khabeishvili at the rally listed demands from the protesters, including the "liberation of political prisoners and the implementation of reforms" demanded by the EU as a condition for granting Tbilisi formal candidate status. "(The) Georgian government is controlled from Moscow and our duty is to save our homeland from Russian henchmen," former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told the crowd.
"We are freedom-loving people, part of the European family, we reject Russian slavery." One of the protesters, 27-year-old painter Luka Kavsadze, told AFP: "Our struggle will be peaceful but uncompromising and will take us to where we belong - the European Union." Last month, tens of thousands took to the streets in Tbilisi after parliament backed a bill "on foreign agents," similar to the law used in Russia to suppress dissent.
The law, which has drawn heavy criticism from the European Union and the United States, was dropped amid pressure from street protests, during which police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. The ruling party has insisted it remains committed to Georgia's EU and NATO bids, which are enshrined in the constitution and have the support of 80 percent of the population, according to opinion polls. But party leaders have stepped up anti-Western rhetoric after Washington last week banned visas for four powerful Georgia judges over alleged corruption.
The move marked the latest tightening of Washington's approach to an ally following concerns about a shift from Tbilisi toward Russia. Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, applied for EU membership days after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor in February 2022. Last June, EU leaders granted Kiev and Chisinau formal candidate status but said Tbilisi needed to implement reforms first.
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Date updated: 09 Apr 2023 22:26:57 IST