While Ivanishvili devoted his speech to calling out the enemies attacking Georgia, he didn’t namecheck Russia, even though Moscow occupies 20 percent of Georgian territories, backing local proxies in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
He also vowed that the United National Movement, Georgia’s largest bloc of opposition MPs, would face “harsh political and legal judgment” following nationwide elections in October. Brussels has said tackling political polarization is a critical requirement for Georgia to one day achieve EU membership.
“A free, independent and sovereign Georgia, a member of the EU, a united and undivided Georgia,” Ivanishvili said. “This is our Georgian dream, which we will definitely achieve together.”
Although thousands attended the pro-government demonstration, critics say their presence is not representative of how many Georgians feel.
“Georgian Dream has a lot of administrative powers that they are abusing and there’s evidence of that. They are threatening people that if they wouldn’t join their support to demonstrations they’d lose their jobs,” said Tinatin Akhvlediani, a Georgian analyst with the Brussels-based Center for European Policy Studies.
Demonstrations are expected to continue, despite a large police presence and well-publicized violence against protestors in Tbilisi.
“I’ve been protesting every night for weeks,” said Luka, a 22-year-old student who joined the crowds forming outside the parliament building. “I’ll keep protesting until they listen to us.”
This article has been updated with statements from Ursula von der Leyen and Salome Zourabichvili, and details of police brutality outside Georgia’s parliament.
