Deep Dive | Episode 24 | What is Happening in Georgia? - video Dailymotion

OutlookIndia

Georgia has become a focal point of political tension as protests erupt following the government’s decision to pause European Union accession talks. Demonstrators, aligned with opposition parties and the pro-Western President, have clashed with riot police. In contrast, the governing Georgian Dream party defends its stance amidst accusations of election irregularities and Russian influence.  At the heart of the unrest are questions about Georgia's political direction, its alignment between East and West, and the implications of policies such as the “foreign agents bill” and restrictions on LGBTQIA+ rights. As the protests unfold, Georgia’s political future and European integration remain uncertain.  Reporter/Script: Rani Jana Camera: Suresh Pandey Editor: Sudhanshu   Follow us: Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/ X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia  #GeorgiaProtests #TbilisiUnrest #EUAccession #GeorgianPolitics #Democracy #HumanRights #ForeignAgentsBill #LGBTQIA+Rights #News #InternationalRelations #Politics #Global News

Transcript

00:00Over the last week, thousands of people have been protesting in Tablisi, the capital city

00:05of Georgia.

00:13The riot police have been using tear gas and water cannons on protesters who have been

00:17using fireworks against them.

00:21More than 300 protesters have been detained and over 100 people have been treated for

00:26injuries.

00:27Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.

00:29Today, we will discuss what led to the protests in Georgia.

00:34The protests erupted after Prime Minister and Chairperson of the populist Georgian Green

00:38Party, Irakli Kobakidze, announced that Georgia would suspend talks on European Union accession

00:45for four years.

00:47Kobakidze's announcement on 20 November came after the European Parliament adopted a non-binding

00:54resolution rejecting Georgia's parliamentary election results due to significant irregularities.

01:01The resolution also called for fresh elections to be held within a year under international

01:06supervision and proposed sanctions on Georgian leaders, including the Prime Minister.

01:12The opposition parties and Georgia's pro-Western President, Salome Zurabishvili, claimed that

01:18the governing party rigged the vote with the assistance of Russia.

01:23In protest, they have boycotted parliamentary sessions.

01:26Earlier this week, the Coalition for Change opposition party shared a video on X showing

01:32police raiding their offices and detaining their leader, Nikagwara Mia.

01:37Meanwhile, Zurabishvili refuses to step down as President ahead of the December 14 presidential

01:44election and has called on Western nations to support.

01:47This is a huge, I would say, national movement.

01:51It's twice as outrageous when a government that is not considered legitimate by its population

01:58takes a 180% turn from where we stand towards the European integration, towards Russia.

02:08What is very important is we get a clear message, that the clear message is again non-recognition

02:14of the elections and support to the new elections because that is the political way out of this

02:21crisis.

02:22Accession to the European Union has been a constitutional goal for Georgia since 2017.

02:29The country applied for membership in March 2022 and achieved candidate status in December

02:342023.

02:35However, the accession was put on hold and financial support was cut in June this year

02:40after the passage of the Foreign Agents Bill.

02:44The bill requires non-governmental and media organizations receiving more than 20% of their

02:50funding from outside Georgia to register as pursuing the interests of a foreign power.

02:56Critics argue the bill mirrors similar laws in Russia designed to stifle dissent and suppress

03:03civil society.

03:04I am sure that the use of this law and many other laws that are right now presented by

03:10the Georgian majority authorities is designed to raise more obstacles and that's why I call

03:18it a Russian strategy.

03:20Earlier this year, the bill itself sparked riots across the country.

03:25In September, Georgian politicians approved a law aimed at family values and protecting

03:31minors imposing restrictions on LGBTQIA plus rights.

03:37Pride events, rainbow flags, gender transitions, adoption by LGBTQIA plus individuals and same-sex

03:44marriage recognition while censoring related films and books.

03:49For critics, this decision further reflected the government's erosion of democratic freedoms

03:54and alignment with Moscow's authoritarian influence.

03:58On one side, you have protesters backing the pro-Western president and four opposition

04:03groups saying the government is illegitimate and pushing for EU membership.

04:09On the other side, there's the Georgian Green Party denying any ties to Kremlin.

04:13They have also just had the US suspend Georgia's hard-won strategic partnership.

04:20As the protests continue, all eyes are on Georgia.

04:23Will the country's aspirations for European integration prevail or will it face further

04:28political turmoil?

04:30To read more on this issue, visit our website.

04:33For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Deep Dive | Episode 24 | What is Happening in Georgia?

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