A man identified as a British national in Georgia has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into parliament during days of rioting in the capital over EU membership.
Georgia, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in Transcaucasia, has been rioting for days over whether to join the European Union, with both countries accusing the other of foreign interference in their affairs. As part of those accusations, Georgia's government, which was re-elected in a landslide earlier this year in a vote that opponents say was rigged by the Kremlin, sparked violence in recent riots in the capital. Many of the people claimed to be foreigners.
What is said to support these claims is that Pro-government Georgian broadcaster released a compilation of clips showing protesters speaking in foreign languages and accents, including a man with a British accent. The man is alleged to have been involved in a group that tried to break into Georgia's parliament over the weekend.
In the video, the man introduces himself as “Daniel Travis” and says he is from Liverpool. When I asked him why he was there, he replied, “I was passing by and I just want to go home.”
times of london state Travis is a British expatriate who recently rented a flat in Tbilisi and is believed to have told the landlord he was an English teacher. A Foreign Office spokesperson told the newspaper: “We are in contact with local authorities regarding the arrest of a British national in Tbilisi.”
However, Georgia rejects the idea that the Brit was an innocent bystander, claiming he was a professional foreign agitator. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has claimed in recent days that the protests are being carried out by what he calls “foreign leaders” who are orchestrating the violence.
Russian state media also reportedly got involved, promoting the following statement by Mamuka Mudinaradze, an official of Georgia's ruling party Georgian Dream: other countries. what is happening? Could someone please explain this strange thing? ”
Tbilisi police late Monday cracked down on anti-government protesters for the fifth night in a row, deploying police water cannons and tear gas cannons to keep activists away from parliament. As previously reported, Georgia has been moving towards joining the European Union for years, but whether this has a democratic imperative is hotly debated by both sides. .
On the one hand, opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority (80%) are pro-European. But come election time, the Georgian Dream party, which critics accuse of being a Russian stooge, has won every parliamentary election for more than a decade. Critics, including the country's President Salome Zurabichvili, have questioned the legitimacy of the election itself and, by extension, the government.
The pro-Western Zurabichvili recently threatened to refuse to step down despite new presidential elections scheduled for this year, citing the rise of a “one-party state” and the government's “coup” against its people. There is. The European Union has announced that it is rejecting Georgia's elections in October 2024 and calling for new elections within a year. The US has also been vocal about Georgia, with the ambassador saying that Tbilisi's recent actions “call into question the government's commitment to the Western path” and that the country's decisions were “swiftly praised by the Kremlin”. ” he pointed out.
The United States called on the Georgian government to “reconsider its actions and return Georgia to the path of the European Union, Western integration, and democracy, which is the desire of a clear majority of Georgians.”
