US considering more sanctions against Georgia – Blinken
The US is considering additional sanctions against individuals in Georgia it has deemed responsible for brutal violence amid the ongoing unrest, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The country’s pro-Western political parties are staging nightly protests in the post-Soviet republic, which have escalated into clashes with the police on multiple occasions, in an attempt to overturn the results of the October elections, which they claim were rigged.
Blinken accused Tbilisi’s ruling Georgian Dream party of committing “brutal and unjustified violence” against protesters while announcing the possibility of new punitive measures on Wednesday, and expressed support for what he called the desire of the people to join “the Euro-Atlantic family.” Washington’s commitment to that is “ironclad,” he added.
Blinken demanded the release of detained protesters and that officials be held accountable for police officers “engaging in the unlawful use of force.”
On multiple occasions, rally-goers have reportedly fired fireworks at riot police and pelted them with rocks. The officers used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. Dozens of people on both sides have been reported injured since mid-November.
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili is among the leaders of the protest movement. She has said that she will not step down from office when her term expires later this month, because, she claims, the newly-elected parliament cannot legally pick her successor.
On Monday, the French-born head of state urged schools to support the protesters. This triggered a rebuke from the influential Georgian Orthodox Church, which interpreted her call as an attempt to drag minors into the conflict.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party has compared the events in the country with Ukraine’s 2014 “Euromaidan” protests, a Western-backed campaign that escalated into a successful armed coup. Last week, the national government announced that it was suspending integration with the EU, after accusing Brussels of using Tbilisi’s bid for political leverage.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, a senior Georgian Dream official, has claimed that as many as 30% of the people participating in the protests are foreign nationals.
