"Georgia goes to Europe" - President Zurabishvili's pro-Europe rally. Photo
Georgian President Zurabishvili’s pro-Europe rally
A rally in support of the European course of Georgia was held in Tbilisi on the evening of June 16. President Salome Zurabishvili called on Georgians to come to Europe Square the day before.
The action was attended by the EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Harzell, as well as ambassadors to Georgia from France and Germany. Representatives of the opposition parties Lelo, Citizens and For Justice also joined.
The ruling party did not take part in the action. “85% of the population of Georgia supports European integration, and this mood will only be weakened by this unprepared action”, the Georgian Dream said the day before.
President Salome Zurabishvili and the leader of the ruling party exchanged sharply critical remarks in recent days as Georgia nervously awaits to see if its bid for EU candidate status will be approved.
The President accused the government of anti-Western rhetoric and insulting MEPs, friends and allies. She stated that the ruling team was misleading the public, saying that someone was allegedly trying to force Georgia to open a “second front”.
Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party responded by accusing the president of “repeating messages of the radical opposition” and saying that Salome Zurabishvili “actually disrupts the granting of a status to Georgia”.
At a rally in support of European integration, the flags of the European Union, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, which also applied for EU candidate status, were handed out.
Balloons depicting the flags of Georgia and the European Union were drifting over the crowd.
“This is not a rally of political parties, this is a meeting of free people. And I am here not as a president, but as a citizen who believes that this country has no other future. I will do my best to bring this prospect to life”, said Salome Zurabishvili.
