TBILISI: Georgia’s prime minister on Tuesday threatened to punish his political opponents, accusing them of being behind violence at mass protests, as Tbilisi’s top court rejected a key lawsuit to annul the result of a contested October vote.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze — who infuriated protesters last week by announcing his government would shelve EU accession talks until 2028 — also suggested he would take retribution on public servants if they take part in protests.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Monday against the ruling Georgian Dream party in a fifth straight night of protests, with more demonstrations planned on Tuesday.
They accuse the government of bringing Tbilisi back into Moscow’s orbit and betraying the Black Sea nation’s bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in its constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.
Georgia has been gripped by political turmoil since a contested October election, which pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili and the opposition say Georgian Dream rigged, demanding a re-run.
But, intensifying the crisis, Tbilisi’s top court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by Zurabishvili and opposition parties to overturn the election result.
A re-run of the contested vote was one of the protesters’ main demands.
Zurabishvili, who backs the protests and whom Georgian Dream are trying to remove from office, did not yet respond to the court’s decision to throw out her case.
That announcement came shortly after Kobakhidze — who has ruled out talks with the opposition — vowed to punish his opponents.
“Opposition politicians who have orchestrated the violence in recent days while hiding in their offices will not escape responsibility,” he said at a press conference.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has refused to back down despite increasing international criticism of Georgia’s handling of its protests, with several Western countries saying Tbilisi had used excessive force.
Kobakhidze, 46, also threatened to punish civil servants who join the protests, after several ambassadors and a deputy foreign minister resigned over the demonstrations crack-down and his decision to suspend EU talks.
“The process of self-cleansing within the public sector has been very interesting. We are closely monitoring everyone’s actions, and they will not go without a response,” he said.
Evoking language used by the Kremlin, Kobakhidze alledged the protest movement was “funded from abroad.”
He also singled out NGOs — heavily targeted in a repressive pre-election campaign by authorities — for being behind the protests, vowing that they will “not evade responsibility as defined by law.”
Tbilisi earlier this year adopted Russian-style legislation designed to restrict the activity of NGOs as well measures that the EU says curb LGBTQ rights.
The adoption of the laws prompted the US to slap sanctions on Georgian officials.
But Kobakhidze said his government hoped that the “US attitudes toward us will change after January 20” — when Donald Trump, who has criticized federal support for gender transition, takes office.
Kobakhidze’s threats to the opposition came as more Western leaders criticized Tbilisi’s police response to the protests.
NATO chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday slammed as “deeply concerning” the situation in Georgia, condemning “unequivocally” the reports of violence.
The mostly young protesters accuse Georgian Dream of acting on Russian orders and fear the ex-Soviet country will end up back under Russian influence.
“We want freedom and we do not want to find ourselves in Russia,” 21-year-old protester Nika Maghradze, told AFP.
Georgia’s health ministry earlier said that 26 people — 23 protesters and three law enforcement officers — were injured in the latest protest on Monday night.
President Zurabishvili has described the protests as Georgians “rising against the Russian puppetry regime.”
“The message is clear: Give me my vote back! Give me my European future back!,” she had said on social media on Monday.
Some protesters placed their hopes in the 72-year-old president.
“She is our only chance,” 43-year-old demonstrator Mariam told AFP on Monday.
Georgia PM vows retribution for protests as court rejects bid to annul vote
https://arab.news/ydkp8
Georgia PM vows retribution for protests as court rejects bid to annul vote
- Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also suggested he would take retribution on public servants if they take part in protests
- Georgia has been gripped by political turmoil since a contested October election
US begins large military drill with South Korea while waging war in the Middle East
- The allies’ combined exercise comes amid South Korean media speculation that Washington is relocating some assets from South Korea to support fighting against Iran
SEOUL, South Korea: The United States began a large military exercise with South Korea involving thousands of troops Monday while also waging an escalating war in the Middle East.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has said about 18,000 Korean troops will take part in Freedom Shield, which runs through March 19. US Forces Korea hasn’t confirmed the number of American troops participating in the training in South Korea.
The allies’ combined exercise comes amid South Korean media speculation that Washington is relocating some assets from South Korea to support fighting against Iran.
US Forces Korea said last week it would not comment on specific movements of military assets for security reasons. South Korean officials also declined to comment on the reports that some US Patriot anti-missile systems and other equipment were being moved to the Middle East, but they said there would be no meaningful impact on the allies’ combined defense posture.
Freedom Shield may trigger an irritated response from North Korea, which has long described the allies ‘ joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations and weapons tests. The allies say the drills are defensive in nature.
North Korea has suspended all meaningful dialogue with Washington and Seoul following the 2019 collapse of a summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump during his first term. Tensions rose in recent years as Kim used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to accelerate the development of his nuclear arsenal and increase his leverage by aligning militarily with Moscow, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large weapons shipments to help fuel its warfighting.
The allies’ drills follow a major political conference in Pyongyang last month, where Kim confirmed his hard-line view of “enemy” Seoul but left the door open to talks with Washington, calling on the United States to drop its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue.
Freedom Shield is one of two annual “command post” exercises conducted by the allies; the other is Ulchi Freedom Shield, held in August. The drills are largely computer-simulated and designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. As usual, the March drill will be accompanied by a field training program, called Warrior Shield, but the number of field exercises during the Freedom Shield period has declined to 22 compared to last year’s 51.
While US and South Korean militaries say field exercises are often spread out throughout the year, there’s speculation that the allies are seeking to tone down the spring drills to create conditions for dialogue with North Korea. Liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has expressed a desire for diplomacy, and some of his top officials have voiced hope that Trump’s expected visit to China in late March or April could possibly create an opening with Pyongyang.
