Thousands of pro-Europeans in Tbilisi protest against their government for not getting the status to enter the EU
One more Sunday, tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tbilisi, to demand the resignation of the government accused of not having obtained the status of a candidate for the European Union. The protesters waved European and Georgian flags, as well as posters of “We are Europe”according to the AFP news agency.
Demonstrations had been called by all opposition parties and various pro-European organizations to increase pressure on the ruling Georgian Dream party.accused of authoritarian drift and of having deteriorated relations with Brussels.
A mass rally in support of European integration began in Tbilisi. Thousands of people demand the resignation of Prime Minister Garibashvili and the fulfillment of the conditions for Georgia’s entry into the EU.https://t.co/K1UAdaukeq pic.twitter.com/RDBgaCrehD
— The Insider (@the_ins_ru) July 3, 2022
“We demand that the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili resign the executive power and transfer it, respecting the Constitution, to a government of national unity. A new government must carry out the reforms requested by the EU and that will automatically grant us the status of a candidate for EU membership, ”continues the text published on social networks by the opposition parties. Today we enter a new phase of our demonstrations: we will remain united,” the organizers insisted.
On June 23, European leaders declared that they were “ready to grant candidate status” to Georgia, a country that was the target of a Russian armed offensive in 2008, but that major structural reforms were still lacking. This decision was followed by demonstrations against the Georgian Dream, the party that supports the current government and was founded by the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, considered the strong man of the country, although he no longer has an official political role.
Pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili is the de facto ruler of Georgia:
* Vital personnel decisions are made only in agreement with him
* People personally associated with him are appointed to key positions
* Large-scale projects
* Powerless parliament in a parliamentary republic pic.twitter.com/zJ5kpS1Bwo— Fuad Alakbarov (@DrAlakbarov) June 27, 2022
Georgia borders the Black Sea and sasked to join the EU along with Ukraine and Moldova, two other former Soviet republics, days after the Kremlin’s February 24 attack on Ukraine. On June 23, European leaders granted this status to kyiv and Chisinau, but not to Tbilisi, although they recognized Georgia’s “European perspective”.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the oligarch close to Putin
The oligarch and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is the informal ruler of Georgia, a topic often discussed by non-governmental organizations, politicians and local and international experts. According to the media, no serious political decision can be taken in Georgia without Ivanishvili’s consent. The constitutional institutions (parliament and ministries) are ignored when making decisions. According to information from Bloomberg, the Credit Suisse bank would have sued the oligarch after losses of 607 million dollars in a fraudulent tax scheme designed for the Georgian billionaire and that would have allowed “laundering” some 60 million dollars.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian billionaire suing a unit of Credit Suisse over a fraud scheme run by one of its ex-bankers, lost about $607 million in the case https://t.co/sNiozTCbqg
— Bloomberg (@business) June 25, 2022