The Georgian president opposes her own administration and looks to Europe for support

The president of Georgia, who is at odds with her own government, urged European nations on Monday to oppose what she called a Russian attempt to exert control over her country.

Following a fourth night of violence between demonstrators and police following the ruling Georgian Dream party’s announcement last week that it was halting negotiations to join the European Union, President Salome Zourabichvili was addressing.

That was interpreted by critics as evidence of a Russian-driven turn away from pro-Western policies and back toward Moscow’s orbit, something the ruling party disputes.

Zourabichvili told France Inter radio, “We want our European destiny to be returned to us,” after directly protesting with riot police. “This is the revolt of an entire country.”

With primarily ceremonial powers, Zourabichvili claimed that Russia, which is already at war in Ukraine, was using a “hybrid strategy” against Georgia as well as other nations like Moldova, NATO, and EU member Romania.

The 72-year-old president, a former French ambassador to Georgia and the son of Georgian parents, stated that “there is a very strong need for very clear moral and political support” from Europe.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, disputed that Russia was meddling in the Georgian crisis, drawing a comparison to the “Maidan” revolution in Ukraine in 2014 that toppled a pro-Russian leader.

Georgia is “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss,” according to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who issued a warning on Sunday that things will end “very badly.”

Georgia, a South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people at the meeting point of Europe and Asia that was formerly a part of the Soviet Union, has been criticized by the US and the EU for what they see to be a democratic reversal.

The administration claims it is taking action to shield Georgia from outside meddling and keep it from being drawn into a conflict with Russia like Ukraine did. Earlier this year, it passed a law prohibiting “foreign agents” and implemented restrictions on LGBT rights.

The opposition was accused by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of “coordinated violence” with the intention of toppling the constitutional system.

TEAR GAS AND FIREWORKS

When thousands of demonstrators reassembled in the capital city of Tbilisi on Sunday night, some of them threw fireworks at police, who retaliated with tear gas and water cannon.

“I’m here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my country,” Nikoloz Miruashvili, one of the protesters, stated.

After some demonstrators remained outside all night, police moved them away from the parliament building to break up the standoff.

According to Georgia’s interior ministry, 113 police officers have been injured since the start of the current disturbance, including 21 during the overnight demonstration.

The United States has denounced what it described as the disproportionate use of police force, and scores of protestors have also been hurt in recent days.

A “very disturbing number” of 124 out of 156 individuals detained at rallies, according to Georgia’s public ombudsman, had reported that the police had used violence against them.

After being momentarily arrested by police, Zurab Japaridze, a leader of the opposition movement Coalition for Change, announced on social media that he had been freed.

The decision to halt negotiations with the EU and cease receiving any funding from the bloc for four years has been met with protests from hundreds of diplomats and public workers who have written open letters.

Georgia has lost at least four ambassadors.

In an Instagram post, martial arts fighter Ilia Topuria, who has a sizable fan base in the nation, stated: “I disagree with the decision to end our accession talks to the European Union. The treatment of Georgia’s youngsters makes me feel ashamed. This isn’t what we call freedom.

Because the parliament that will choose her successor was picked in October elections that the opposition claims were manipulated, Zourabichvili says she will not resign as president when her tenure ends this month.

The vote was fair, according to the election commission. Zourabichvili will have to leave the presidential palace at the end of the month, according to Prime Minister Kobakhidze, who indicated on Sunday that he was responding emotionally to the opposition’s election loss.