Georgia’s next election will be referendum for or against Europe: President Zourabichvili

Georgia’s next election will be referendum for or against Europe: President Zourabichvili

[Music] hello you’re watching talking Europe a few months ago Georgians were in the streets celebrating the eu’s decision to give their country candidate status to join the block but if the right hand is moving towards Europe the left hand is pulling in a different direction entirely a draft law has passed in Georgia’s Parliament ostensibly aimed at promoting transparency around foreign funding of organizations critics say the foreign influence law smacks of clampdowns in Russia Hungary and other countries and that it will be used to stifle free expression and open debate ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary elections ated for this October today we host perhaps the most outspoken advocate for Georgia’s Euro Atlantic integration it’s president salom zurabishvili who joins us from tulisi president thank you for being our guest once again it’s worth explaining to our viewers first why this law is different from transparency laws in the west let’s say because foreign agents registration acts that exists in the US we have this kind of legislation in France but what’s go what’s going on in Georgia it’s it’s not that same kind of law is it no it’s an exact copy uh of the law that was passed uh by Russia and which allowed Russia to clamp down on the non-governmental organizations first and on the media uh then uh and it’s exactly and the Georgian authorities that have pushed this uh law for the second time after having last year uh declined to go forward with it uh now are reprop posing the same law uh and their aim and objective is no different it’s to limit uh the activities of these non-governmental organizations and uh the Declaration by uh the uh uh president of the party uh Mr Ian is to that effect is very very clear that he has made in front of the uh activists that were called in PC by the ruling Georgian Dream uh he just recognizes that it’s to control better uh the non-governmental organization the international organizations also and all of that in view first of all of the next elections in October you will veto the bill presumably when it comes to your office and then Parliament will override that veto because the ruling party has that majority correct that’s correct it must be said also that this bill has already been vetoed by all the people that come out on the streets especially uh the Georgian youth but not only a very vast majority of people that have been for 15 days now protesting the different stages of the adoption of the slow which of course I’m going to veto as I have vetoed and I’ve declared that I would veto any law uh that uh is going against the recommendations that were formulated by the European Union in view of granting Georgia the possibility to open negotiations for ad desin as it did with Ukraine and mova so it’s a very big stake and we have no right I think and that what the Georgian population thinks we have no right to let that chance pass by you think we could be heading towards a paralysis of the country which would then uh make the the government change course I think that uh this government and I think by now it’s quite clear that they are not going to change course uh I think that we have a very responsible Youth and also opposition that is very concerned with the stability of the country we know that in this country uh any instability uh can be used by our Northern neighbor uh so I think everybody is responsible and that the answer to this law and many other laws uh and many anti-european anti-western rhetoric by the governing ruling party uh will be in the elections we have elections on October 36 of this year and now it’s very clear uh that the elections will be type of referendum for or against Europe what type of future do we want for Georgia you mentioned bz Ian earlier he’s the emance gree of Georgian Politics the founder of Georgian Dream a former prime minister of Georgia let’s take a listen to his speech into bisi on April the 29th from the start of 2022 to the present day Georgia has endured a difficult fight to avoid war and preserve peace despite the promises of the 2008 Bucharest Summit Georgia and Ukraine have not been accepted into NATO and have been left out to dry all of those decisions are made by the global party of War which has a decisive influence on NATO and the EU and for which Georgia and Ukraine are cannon fodder in 2008 they forced Georgia into a confrontation with Russia and in 2014 and 2022 they put Ukraine in an even more difficult situation so he’s using terms like the global party of War Georgia is Canon fodder how do you respond to that well it’s very clear to hear that and there were many other things in that uh Speech uh it’s very clear that the anti-western rhetoric uh is very also copied from the anti-western retor that you hear in Moscow uh this invention of the party of war that supposedly would push Georgia into the war is something that has been used On and On by the ruling party uh and uh that is something that is of a concern to the general population that using uh that fear of War uh they’re trying to push us to some form of neutrality uh that seems to be the aim and the objective of the the ruling party and of Mr Ian is uh but that is not the way of the very Mass majority of the Georgian population that for years and years now has been constantly supporting the European path with 80% of all the opinion polls in favor and that is not changing to the country because the uh granting of the candidate status to Georgia has only reinforced the sense that we are now close uh to the next stage and that is a stage that nobody here wants to see escaping us there was a a a US state department uh document a few months ago which uh documented what it called Russian influence operations in Georgia um despite the opinion PS that you just mentioned of people being in favor of EU integration are there still would you say a lot of soft Targets in Georgia for this so-called hybrid Warfare well there are soft targets and you know we are uh in that region that the Soviet uh institutes and hence now the Russian institutes know quite well psychologically politically so they know what instruments they can use but on the other side it’s also true uh that the Georgian population is more immune than some of the western populations uh to the Russian propaganda because we’ve known it for very many long years and so we know how they proceed how they act and I think that by now everything is clear and that the Georgians know that by October they will have to say very clearly what they want for the future of this country uh and again with their feet uh the Georgian youth has already voted and they will probably vote in Mass next October I’m very confident and I’m very hopeful um Georgian Dream also said recently was it was going to try to introduce a law Banning the promotion of same-sex relationships and banning gender transitions uh that kind of approach do you think it will gain Traction in a society which is still quite conservative in many ways if we’re talking about the election again it is and it is not and I think that everybody that why I’m saying that it’s a very aware population of what can be uh tested and by now they know that they are going to use all the tricks of the Russian propaganda uh and so nobody will be surprised uh and everybody is preparing uh themselves for uh that type of propaganda that will be developed on the coming mons so that’s not something that is very scary or very uh new or not expected and the main thing is that when you expect things they do not appear so frightening president I’ve got a question about um one of your predecessors uh Mikel sakash because since the last time you and I spoke uh MEPS in the European Parliament released a statement saying that the way uh Mr sakash is being treated is a lious test of the Georgian government’s commitments to European values and they actually go as far as to urge you to use your constitutional rights uh to pardon him they say that would reduce political polarization in the country what do you think of all that uh well I think that the European MPS are a bit uh late on the events uh because they’re uh still invoking the humanitarian issue which was a concern for me also but by now it’s very clear that Mr sakash has no medical uh problem any longer is using very effectively and with the support of the ruling party uh the trial to really make political speeches uh and what is very clear here and that’s why probably the European MPS are a bit disconnected from the Georgian reality is that the very ma majority of the population doesn’t want to see a comeback uh of sakash and of his party and of the authoritarian rule that characterized him nor do they want the today’s ruling party and it’s pro- Russian and pro authoritarian uh character to remain in power so that is a choice that is open to the Georgian people they want something new they want something Democratic uh and they want something European and that’s what we’re going to see in the next elections thank you so much president salom zish president of Georgia joining me from T and of course we will be closely covering that crucial election in Georgia in October here on France 2 4 thanks for watching [Music]

Georgia has erupted in protest once again, as the ruling Georgian Dream party pursues a “foreign agents” bill in parliament – something that has left a question mark hanging over the country’s European ambitions. The EU granted the ex-Soviet nation candidate status to join the bloc last December. We speak to Georgia’s President Salomé Zourabichvili, who plans to veto the final draft of the law, but admits that parliament can still override her veto. That makes the October 26 election even more crucial for re-asserting the country’s European path, she says.

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