The United States has announced that it has imposed new sanctions on former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, for undermining democracy in Georgia “in favor of the Russian Federation.”
“Under Ivanishvili’s leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the Kremlin’s interests by obstructing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path – in direct opposition to what the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution envisioned,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Dec. 27 statement.
Blinken added that “the actions of Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream have undermined democratic institutions, enabled violations of human rights and limited the exercise of basic freedoms in Georgia”, reports RSE.
“We strongly condemn the actions of Georgian Dream under the leadership of Ivanishvili, including the continued and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists and opposition figures.”
The new measures will block transactions involving entities owned by Ivanishvili, the statement said.
On December 12, the United States announced that it would “ban the issuance of visas to those responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia.”
The measure affected about 20 people, “including individuals who serve as government and parliamentary ministers, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens,” the statement said, without naming the individuals.
Georgia, once a close ally of the US, has angered Washington and the European Union with its apparent tilt towards Russia and its violent crackdown on dissent in the Caucasian country.
The sanctions come at a crucial moment, as the fate of Georgia hangs in the balance – whether it will intensify its orientation towards Moscow, return to the pro-European path or remain in an environment of unrest and insecurity.
Police in Tbilisi have clashed with pro-Western protesters over the past few weeks, detaining dozens and injuring many people who accuse the Georgian Dream party government of pushing the country away from the European Union and closer to Moscow.
The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream declared victory in parliamentary elections in October, which the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said were marred by cases of vote-buying, double voting, physical violence and intimidation.
The protests intensified after the government’s decision last month to postpone Georgia’s EU accession talks.
On December 24, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an investigation by Georgian security forces into “brutal police violence” against largely peaceful protesters who took to the streets for massive anti-government protests.
On December 22, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who distanced herself from the government and supported the protesters – called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29.
Earlier this month, the Georgian Dream-dominated electoral college chose Mihail Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia’s next president.
His inauguration is scheduled to take place on December 29, although the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term expires this year, has said she will not step down.
Georgia was granted candidate status for EU membership in December 2023, but relations with Brussels have been strained in recent months following the adoption of a controversial “foreign agents” law in May, pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. . year.
(Vijesti.ba)
www.vijesti.ba
