Sweden, Finland hold NATO talks ahead of the formal accession summit
TBILISI – Tens of thousands of Georgians gathered on the streets of Tbilisi, angry at what the opposition sees as the government’s failure to make progress on reforms that could boost the Caucasus’ hopes of joining the European Union.
Participants in the July 3 event, organized by the Shame civic movement and other pro-democracy groups, also showed support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, which occupies parts of Georgian territory captured during a brief war in 2008.
Protesters flaring and waving Georgian and EU flags and banners blocked traffic on central Rustaveli Avenue and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the formation of a new “national agreement” government.
Georgia has been gripped by protests since EU leader last month postponed Tbilisi’s membership candidacy, recognizes it as a “perspective member” but insists that candidate status can only be granted as soon as “established priorities are met” and comprehensive reforms have been implemented.
At the same time as the EU stood up for Georgia, the EU also formally agreed to take the historic step of making Ukraine and Moldova candidates for EU membership in the midst of the war in Ukraine and Moscow’s bitter condemnations of the two countries’ intentions.
Garibashvili has said his government is “mobilized” to meet the demands made by Brussels “so that we can get candidate status as soon as possible.”
There was no immediate estimate of the number of rally participants, but an estimated 120,000 people took part in each of two previous rallies in the Georgian capital.
In a demonstration, Shota Digmelashvili from the Shame movement read out a manifesto and announced the launch of a new popular movement which will include opposition parties, civil society organizations, journalists and trade unions to make demands on the government.
The manifesto claimed that the country’s “main obstacle to its European path is Bidzina Ivanishvili,” the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, who is widely regarded as the country’s top decision-maker in the South Caucasus despite failing in office. .
In May, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution calling on the EU to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili for his “destructive role” in Georgia’s politics and economy. Ivanishvili insists he has retired from politics.
In a statement on Facebook, the organizers of the rally called on Ivanishvili to “abstain from the executive branch and transfer it, in a constitutional manner, to a government with a national agreement.”
The statement said a new government could “implement the reforms required by the EU, which will automatically give us EU membership status.”
“The next stage of our protests begins today. We will not be dispersed.”
The government led by the Georgian Dream Party has been hit by growing international criticism of the perceived decline of democracy, which is hurting its EU hopes.
The European Commission said that conditions Tbilisi’s needs to meet include an end to political polarization, progress on media freedom, judicial reform and elections and “de-oligarisation”.
Georgian Dream officials insist they adhere to democratic principles and accused the opposition of “plans to overthrow the authorities by organizing anti-government meetings.”
Opinion polls show that at least 80 percent of the Georgian population advocates plans to join the EU, as well as NATO, amid perceived threats from Russia.
Georgia’s efforts to forge closer ties with the West have long angered Russia. Tensions culminated in Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, after which Russia recognized South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, as independent countries and stationed thousands of its troops in those areas.