MASSIVE ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTEST IN GEORGIA TO PUSH AUTHORITIES FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

Mon 10 Apr 2023:

Thousands of protesters rallied in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to press the government to keep the country on its EU membership path.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament on Sunday and urged the government to implement the reforms required for Georgia’s integration with the EU.

The rally was organized by the United National Movement (UNM), the main opposition party founded by jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The crowd waved Georgian and EU flags as they chanted slogans for closer ties with the European bloc.

Protesters also carried banners with messages of support for Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year jail term for abuse of power, as well as several more condemning Russia.

Last month, mass protests forced the government to abandon a bill that would have required any non-governmental organisation receiving money from abroad to register as an “agent of foreign influence”.

Opponents said the bill was modelled on one introduced in Russia in 2012 to suppress dissent and called it a step towards authoritarianism. The protests saw police use water cannon and pepper spray on attendees.

On Sunday, demonstrators outside the parliament building in capital Tbilisi waved Georgian, Ukrainian and European Union flags and held a huge banner that read: “For a European future”.

Opposition leaders from the UNM addressed the crowd, accusing the government of backsliding on democracy and acting under Russia’s influence.

They criticized the government led by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili for failing to secure Georgia’s EU candidate status last year because it did not fulfill the 12-point criteria set out by the EU.

Georgia, along with Moldova, applied for EU membership on March 3 last year, following Ukraine’s application on Feb. 28, just four days after Russia launched its first attacks.

Along with Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia applied for EU membership a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory began in late February 2022. In June, the EU granted official candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau but asked Tbilisi to implement reforms first.

Government controlled by Moscow

“The government is controlled from Moscow and our obligation is to save our homeland from Russian stooges,” said former president Guiorgui Margvelashvili: “We are freedom-loving, we are part of the European family, we reject Russian slavery.

“Our fight will be peaceful but uncompromising and will lead us to where we belong, the European Union,” said 27-year-old painter Luka Kavsadze.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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