The Daily Beat: 11 December
On Saturday, a pro-EU march, “Your voice to European Union,” was held in Tbilisi, unfurling the biggest EU flag ever. Local civil society organizations organized this public event to make the Georgian people’s voice and choice for the country’s European future heard in Europe. President Salome Zurabishvili joined the march, but government officials were absent. A record-breaking EU flag – the largest worldwide at 22 meters wide and 33 meters long – was specially made for the event.
A Georgian citizen, Tamur Karbaia, was beaten to death in the town of Gali in Russia-occupied Abkhazia. According to the movement “For Abkhazia,” 43-year-old Temur Karbaia was beaten by three members of the so-called local “Militia” in the center of the town, in front of numerous onlookers, and later taken to the hospital. Still, due to the severity of sustained injuries, he did not survive. The Georgian State Security Service confirmed the killing to Civil.ge but did not provide any further details.
President Salome Zurabishvili commented on the killing of Temur Karbaia in occupied Abkhazia, calling it a “tragic reminder of the blatant violations of elementary Human rights in the territories occupied by Russia.” Speaker Shalva Papuashvili from the ruling Georgian Dream party also condemned the killing and the occupation, expressing condolences to Temur Karbaia’s family. Nevertheless, the ruling party lawmakers refused to consider the adoption of the parliamentary resolution condemning the killing in the occupied territories and holding Russia politically responsible.
President Salome Zurabishvili continues her “unauthorized trips” to Europe, this time visiting the Czech Republic, where she was received by her Czech counterpart, Petr Pavel. According to the President’s office, discussions between the two leaders focused mostly on the EU enlargement process, Georgia’s EU integration, and the importance of EU candidacy status. The ruling Georgian Dream party representatives slammed the President’s visit, describing it as a gross violation of the constitution and a “hostile move against the state.”
Ahead of the EU Council meeting, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili is visiting Brussels in a bid to provide a final update to key EU officials on Georgia’s “successful reform agenda.” According to the MFA, while in Brussels, Minister Darchiashvili met withChief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the European Council, Simon Mordue, and Director-General of Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Directorate-Generale, Gert Jan Koopman.
Writing in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Welcome to Wider Europe newsletter, Europe editor Rikard Jozwiak delves into possible developments ahead of the EU’s December summit, noting that in his understanding, from talking to EU officials and EU member states diplomats, “everyone is generally in favor of Tbilisi getting candidate status,” those countries’ EU statuses could be at risk if they become “collateral damage” in the debate over Ukraine.
The new public opinion poll commissioned by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a U.S. nonprofit organization, suggests that most Georgians support EU integration and experience a lack of trust in political parties ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. At the same time, poverty and economic problems are the main causes of insecurity, and emigration trends are seen as worrisome, among other findings. The poll also finds that 54% of the respondents believe that the government of Georgia is “doing a good job,” which is a ten percentage point increase from the previous poll.
The largest opposition party, the United National Movement, continues to bleed as party members leave the ranks of the UNM. On December 10, Tbilisi UNM members announced that the chairs of district organizations and about 300 members had already left the party, allegedly siding with former UNM chair Nika Melia, who departed from the UNM last week and is set to establish his own political movement.
