Despite US criticism, protests in Georgia are concerned with Prime Minister

Despite US criticism, protests in Georgia are concerned with Prime Minister

In the Georgian capital of Tbilisa, there were protests on Sunday evening, which now took place in the fourth night. The demonstrations are an expression of the dismissal about the government's decision to suspend the talks about an EU accession. Several thousand pro-European demonstrators faced the police, which was equipped with tear gas and water cannons.

background of the protests

Georgia, a country with 3.7 million inhabitants, has been facing an increasing area of ​​tension between the ruling party "Georgian Dream" and the opposition for months. The latter accuses the government of increasingly pursuing authoritarian, anti-western and pro-Russian policies. After the announcement on Thursday, the latest crisis escalated that the government wanted to freeze the EU talks for four years.

protests across the country

On Sunday evening, the protesters gathered again on the central Rustaweli street in Tbilisi. According to the Georgian news agency Interpress, roads were also blocked to the country's most important trading sport in the Black Sea city of Poti. Protests were reported in at least eight cities and municipalities, and reports of opposition TV channels show, such as demonstrators in Khashuri, a city with 20,000 inhabitants, throw eggs on the "Georgian Dream" party and tear down the party's flag.

international reactions

The EU and the United States are alerted about what they evaluate as a departure from Georgia from a pro-Western course and towards Russia's influence. The Georgian dream, on the other hand, defends his measures as a defense of national sovereignty against external influences. Dmitry Medvedev, a former President of Russia, commented that Georgia "quickly moved to a dark abyss on the way of Ukraine" and that such developments generally had catastrophic consequences.

The role of the government

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rejected the criticism from the USA with regard to the supposed "excessive use of violence" against demonstrators. In a press conference, he explained that the police acted at a higher level than the security forces in the United States and Europe and successfully protected the state from a further violation of the constitutional order. Kobakhidze also noticed that the announcement of Washington, the strategic partnership with Georgia, was a temporary event.

constitutional crisis and political tensions

The outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, who is known as the government's critic and proponent of an EU accession, announced that she would not resign if her mandate ended at the end of this month. She described the new parliament, which was elected in October, as illegitimate and without authority to determine her successor. Kobakhidze promised that Zourabichvili had to leave her official apartment on December 29th

Appeal against foreign influences

A large number of diplomats and civil servants have signed open letters in which they describe the suspension of EU negotiations as illegal. In a statement, the Georgian Foreign Ministry pointed out that foreign states tried to intervene in the way the institutions of Georgia. This is not acceptable.

Georgia on the way to the EU

Georgia has been strongly oriented towards the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and is trying to reduce the influence of Russia. It was promised that one day Georgia could become a NATO member, and last year the country was officially recognized as an EU candidate. Nevertheless, concern is growing that the "Georgian Dream" government could give up this course despite its opposite claims. In June she passed a law that forces emergency and aid organizations to register as "foreign agents" if more than 20% of their financing came from abroad. In addition, a law was passed in September that restricts LGBT rights.

The EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas expressed solidarity with the demonstrators on Sunday and explained: "We are at the side of the Georgian people and support their wish for a European future." She condemned the violence against the protesters and regretted the signals from the ruling party not to go further on the way to the EU and to improve democratic conditions in the country.