The Daily Beat: 18 December
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili addressed the European Parliament, speaking of the violations of the October 26 elections, the pro-Russian steps taken by the ruling Georgian Dream party, and the turn away from EU integration that Georgians have been protesting for weeks. In her speech, she criticized the EU for being slow to act against GD’s repressive steps and called for new elections in the country and more vocal support from the EU.
The President’s Administration reported that the Georgian Public Broadcaster did not broadcast President Salome Zurabishvili’s live address to the European Parliament. The Administration claimed that GPB failed to provide “full and objective” information to the public about the President yet again.
In a lengthy interview with one of the key Russian propagandists and a Director General of the Russian state-controlled TV network Russia Today, Dmitry Kiselyov, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev criticized his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron for getting involved in Georgia, saying: “You can see Macron’s ears sticking out, he is restless in his own country, and he has to get involved in Georgia.”
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has begun his official visit to Georgia. While in Tbilisi, he has met with civil society organizations (CSOs), Georgian Dream’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. He also had discussions with the Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani. The GD has used the fact of the visit to assert the legitimacy of its government following the disputed parliamentary elections.
Romania, Italy, and Spain have rejected claims by Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze that their representatives at Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting opposed sanctions against the ruling Georgian Dream party members. The countries reiterated their concern about the situation in Georgia and condemned the “inaccurate” information and “disinformation” spread by Irakli Kobakhidze.
Representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs) held a briefing to reveal that the ruling Georgian Dream party had planned the “systematic torture of peaceful demonstrators.” The CSOs reported that, based on evidence from the lawyers representing the detained protesters and publicly available information, they believe that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had predetermined brutal methods and a system of torture intended to discourage protests before November 28.
Anti-Russian protests have been ongoing in Tbilisi for 19 days now, bringing people of various professions and backgrounds onto the streets. Today, people with disabilities, their parents, and students from Caucasus University organized protest marches through the streets of Tbilisi, carrying the flags of Georgia and the EU. Later in the evening, protest marches from various locations united on Rustaveli Avenue, where police had to restrict the traffic. For more updates on anti-Russia protests across Georgia and related developments, visit our Liveblog: Resistance.