Internal Developments Following Tbilisi's July 3 Pro-EU Rally

| News, Georgia

The demonstration, which started on July 3 and was organized by civil rights advocates, concluded on July 4. The governing party in Georgia, Georgian Dream, declined to comply with the demonstrators' primary demand for the establishment of a "technical" administration that would take the nation to EU candidate status.

In light of this, the rally's organizers want to continue the demonstration. Shota Digmelashvili, one of the rally's organizers, urged the attendees, "Let's join together and disrupt the government as much as possible." Another activist, Dachi Imedadze, said that the next few days would be dedicated to the "restoration of forces and strategic objectives, which means first and foremost making the popular movement more popular." Imedadze also stated that meetings would be conducted in Tbilisi and the provinces so that "the next protest – whether it takes the shape of a march or some other method – will be more powerful and incisive."

This is the third straight event organised in Tbilisi over the last two weeks. Although tens of thousands of people gathered on Rustaveli Avenue in front of Parliament on July 3, the protest seemed smaller than the June 20 and June 24 marches. After protesting outside the Parliament and the Georgian Dream's headquarters on the evening of July 3, the crowd then marched to the Chancellery building and spent the night there. They intended to interrupt the Monday, 11:00 a.m. government meeting scheduled by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Despite police threats that they would be dispersed or detained, the government meeting was ultimately conducted, and the rally was dispersed.

The attendees of the July 3 event were dissatisfied that the rally did not result in tangible political outcomes or an action plan for the future weeks. Notably, on July 3, a number of non-governmental groups established a comprehensive action plan to achieve the 12 recommendations/priorities of the European Commission in order to gain EU candidate status.

The Georgian Dream leaders saw the July 3 event as a failure of civic mobilisation. Irakli Kobakhidze, the leader of the governing party, said that "the National Movement and its satellites lack the means to organise discontent and revolution in Georgia." Kobakhidze said, "For the extreme opposition, the issue of EU candidacy was really a created cover; in reality, they were attempting to use this topic to accomplish their own limited political goal: to destroy the government and regain power." In addition to criticising the plan offered by non-governmental groups, he highlighted that "their actions cannot in any way be a basis for us to break from the plan." According to him, the Georgian dream "will methodically fulfil each point, for which all required procedures will be performed in the appropriate format and time frame."

In addition, the head of parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, condemned non-governmental groups, describing them as "organisations with their own purpose that actually have nothing to do with civil society." Papuashvili said, "It is unfortunate that the sector established over the years collapsed so abruptly due to their inability to set aside their personal political demands and get fully engaged in politics."

The failed rally sparked a wide-ranging discussion on the role the opposition should play in future comparable initiatives. Without the involvement of the United National Movement or other major parties, huge protests are likely to fail.

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