Georgia’s moment of truth: Protesters demand Western path not Russian past

Night aft night, Georgians person filled the wide cardinal avenue that runs past parliament, successful specified large numbers determination is hardly abstraction to move, connected the roadworthy oregon the pavement either side.

They travel to Rustaveli Avenue draped successful flags, the bluish and golden of the EU and the reddish and achromatic of the George Cross, and impeach their progressively authoritarian authorities of ditching their European aboriginal for a instrumentality to the sphere of their Russian neighbour.

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, fervently denies immoderate nexus to the Kremlin, but its actions successful caller days person raised large questions astir this country’s aboriginal with the West.

Not lone has the enactment presided implicit a bitter fallout with the EU, it has conscionable seen the US suspend Georgia’s hard-won strategical concern too.

In a state of lone 3.7 cardinal people, these are unsafe arsenic good arsenic momentous times. One Georgian Dream protagonist spoke of his state sitting astatine the borderline of an abyss.

Through the night, whistles and the honk of vuvuzelas are occasionally punctuated by the crackle of protesters’ fireworks aimed astatine the imposing parliament gathering and the riot constabulary lasting defender with h2o cannon and teardrop gas.

For the archetypal 4 nights, constabulary waited until towards dawn earlier moving successful to reclaim the thoroughfare by force. But connected Monday nighttime they precocious acold earlier, pushing protesters elsewhere.

Police person counted much than 100 injuries among their ain force, portion protesters successful detention person endured beatings and superior facial and caput injuries, according to lawyers, and dozens of TV reporters person travel nether attack.

“The standard of radical being hunted down and beaten individually, truthful they person to beryllium treated successful clinics, has ne'er been seen earlier here,” says Lasha Dzebisashvili, prof of authorities astatine the University of Georgia.

Georgia’s nationalist rights defender, Levan Ioseliani, says constabulary person engaged successful “brutality” and abused their authorization with impunity. Government supporters reason constabulary person travel nether intolerable onslaught from stones and fireworks.

It is simply a law situation with nary evident mode out, unless 1 broadside blinks first. Will the authorities backmost down, oregon the protests fizzle retired nether unit from police?

“No negotiations,” says Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, claiming without instauration that the protests are funded from abroad.

One mates accidental they volition crook retired each nighttime successful December until Georgian Dream changes tack and calls caller elections, to erase a ballot conscionable implicit a period agone marred by a drawstring of violations ranging from bribery to aggregate voting.

Both sides impeach the different of lacking legitimacy.

The protesters, spurred connected by a figurehead pro-Western president and 4 absorption groups, accidental the authorities is illegitimate; the absorption won’t participate parliament due to the fact that of the “falsified elections”.

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, says it won the ballot just and quadrate and insists it’s the mostly ceremonial president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has nary legitimacy. Her clip successful bureau is astir up, truthful wherefore is it she is the 1 who plans to enactment connected to support stability, it asks.

All the portion neighbouring Russia trains a adjacent eye, comparing events to Ukraine’s “Maidan”, erstwhile its unpopular president was ousted by pro-EU protesters successful February 2014 and Russian troops and their proxies moved successful to prehend parts of the country.

“We’re losing our country,” says Nika Gvaramia, an absorption person from the confederation Coalition for Change, and Georgians are facing a stark prime betwixt either a European Georgia oregon Russia.

As helium speaks, the protests are successful afloat plaything astir the country from his enactment HQ, and colleagues constituent to a CCTV video from wrong their lobby a fewer days ago, showing a protester being beaten by police.

“We’re shaking this government. The rallies volition spell connected for arsenic agelong arsenic needed. We person nary different option. It’s a liberation fight. We cognize who we’re warring with, and that’s Russia.”

The words “No to Russia” were daubed successful large achromatic graffiti connected the beforehand of the parliament gathering implicit the play and you tin find the aforesaid benignant of connection connected walls each implicit Tbilisi successful varying degrees of bluntness.

It is besides a connection that carries antithetic meanings here.

Georgian Dream’s highly arguable laws targeting civilian nine and LGBT groups this twelvemonth person been branded Russian-style arsenic good arsenic anti-democratic.

The president has spoken of Georgian Dream’s predetermination triumph arsenic a Russian peculiar operation, and determination was an outcry afterwards erstwhile it emerged that a Russian called Alexander Malkevich who had acceptable up a propaganda web successful occupied eastbound Ukraine had been fixed accreditation to screen the vote.

But nary of that proves Russian interference, adjacent if the billionaire driving unit down the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, made his wealth successful banking and alloy successful Russia, and critics judge helium indispensable inactive person contacts there.

A high-ranking Georgian Dream fig told the BBC backmost successful October that Georgia had said nary to Moscow a agelong clip agone and that the "Russia card" was being utilized by the absorption to onslaught her party.

“Knowing a small spot of Georgian history… nary authorities would beryllium that anserine to commencement reasoning astir that,” said Maka Bochorishvili. Russia did combat a warfare with Georgia lone 16 years ago.

She has since go Georgia’s overseas minister, the caller look of this country’s diplomacy.

The crunch infinitesimal for Georgia and its narration with the West came past Thursday, erstwhile the premier curate declared that the authorities had “decided not to enactment the contented of opening negotiations with the European Union” connected the docket for the adjacent 4 years.

Within hours, Russia’s Vladimir Putin had seized connected his comments.

“I admired their courageousness and character, which they showed erstwhile defending their constituent of view,” helium said, stressing that Russia had nary nonstop narration with Tbilisi.

Kobakhidze has adjacent utilized the aforesaid benignant of connection arsenic the Kremlin, accusing the absorption of readying a Ukraine-style "Maidan" revolution.

However, his constituent was that Georgian constabulary would guarantee it did not happen.

Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus specializer astatine Carnegie Europe, believes it’s a mistake to spot immoderate benignant of adjacent relationship with Russia.

“It’s a concern narration - there’s nary diplomatic relationship. Things are going connected down the scenes but they’re much acrophobic of Russia than wanting to articulation Russia.”

Whatever the grade of contacts, Moscow is bound to similar Georgian Dream, who person wrong a abbreviated play trashed Georgia’s links with the EU and US, to a passionately pro-Western opposition.

The nightly protests amusement nary motion yet of abating, contempt temperatures falling adjacent to freezing, and determination is nary denotation yet of a resolution.

Georgia has seen protests before, but not similar this, says Lasha Dzebisashvili. Public servants from each walks of beingness person signed letters and petitions, and respective ambassadors person resigned, including Georgia’s ambassador to the US, a wide stroke for the ruling party.

The agelong long of Rustaveli Avenue is wherever this communicative volition play retired successful beforehand of parliament successful Tbilisi, but the protests are being felt successful different towns and cities too, including Batumi and Poti connected the Black Sea, Zugdidi successful the north-west and Kutaisi.

On Sunday night, a ample assemblage of protesters formed extracurricular the nationalist broadcaster, demanding that the president beryllium fixed airtime alternatively than the accustomed pro-government fare.

It didn’t hap and gradually the protesters marched towards the centre of the capital, halting the postulation and chanting “Georgia, Georgia”.

Nika Gvaramia and his chap absorption leaders judge the wide mode retired is for escaped and just elections, not nether the existing predetermination committee but nether the auspices of the EU and US: “If Georgian Dream is definite they won the elections, let’s spell with caller ones.”

That seems highly improbable arsenic it would necessitate an implicit admittance that the archetypal ballot was unfair.

GD protagonist and assemblage lecturer Levan Gigineishvili believes they conscionable request to clasp retired for a caller president successful the US: “I deliberation a large mode retired of this volition beryllium [Donald] Trump coming to powerfulness and past everything volition change.”

But 20 January is simply a agelong mode up and this tiny authorities successful the Caucasus volition not beryllium apical of his agenda. And Georgia’s concern assemblage for 1 volition not beryllium blessed with a continuing stalemate oregon with the authorities doing lasting harm to ties with the West.