Situation of Georgians is close to Stalinist terror, they need a clear policy from the EU, Zourabichvili points out

According to her, the current state of Georgia is not very far from that of 1937, when the Soviet Union under Stalin launched a policy of terror in the country.

„We have commissions that are calling in political parties. There are threats of interdicting all the political parties. There are people being arrested and they are in jail without any reason. Just for peaceful protesting, for crossing the street,“ says the Georgian politician, who has been president of the country since 2018.

Gruzínská politička a někdejší prezidentka Salome Zurabišviliová|foto:Filip Nerad, Český rozhlas

At the end of last year, the ruling Georgian Dream party elected Western critic and former football player Mikhail Kavelashvili as a head of state. However, Zourabishvili did not recognize his election and continues to act as the legitimate president of Georgia. From the beginning, she has also supported demonstrations against the government and its anti-Western course, which the regime has violently suppressed.

„People are dismissed from their jobs just for having liked a Facebook post or signed a petition. The cultural scene is also completely constrained and there is no freedom,“ she added about the situation in her country in an interview at the Václav Havel Library in Prague, where she came to visit.

Russia test in Georgia

Neighbouring Russia is also heavily involved in these developments according to Zourabishvili.

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„It probably has very direct ties with the people who are today ruling Georgia. To the ruling oligarch and the clan around him. These ties are of course very difficult to prove, but they are seen in the developments in the last three to four months,“ describes the former foreign minister, according to whom Moscow helped manipulate last year’s parliamentary elections in Georgia and its propaganda is directly reflected in what the current Georgian government proclaims and does.

According to her, this may have far-reaching impacts beyond just the Caucasian republic.

„If the test works in Georgia, then it can be tested anywhere. Even more in countries that have no experience of Russian propaganda and Russian domination. We have some experience, that’s why we are resisting and resilient,“ says the Paris native, who was originally a French diplomat before becoming a Georgian politician.

Salome Zurabišviliová s autorem podcastu Filipem Neradem|foto:Filip Nerad, Český rozhlas

„What we are fighting now is something in which we are also defending European partners and European democracies from the same fate,“ she says and describes support of the EU as insufficient and calls for a clear policy from the Union.

How this clear EU policy towards Georgia should look like in her opinion? What strategy is Russia using in the country and how could it be dangerous for Ukraine? And will Georgia return to accession negotiations with EU and does it still have an European future? Salome Zourabishvili also addresses these topics in this exclusive interview for the Brussels Bites podcast of the Czech Radio.