Georgian President Presses Need For Closer EU, U.S. Ties In Independence Day Speech

TBILISI – Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has come out in support of anti-government protesters angered by a planned “foreign agent” law, pressed in an Independence Day speech the importance for closer ties to Europe and the United States for her South Caucasus nation.

"This is the cornerstone of the solution,” she told a crowd on May 26 in Tbilisi’s Freedom Square.

“Today -- when the ghost of Russia stands before us -- partnership and rapprochement with Europe and America is a true way to maintain our independence, peace, and strength,” she said, as she cited the desire of a vast majority of citizens to join the European Union.

Georgians celebrate Independence Day in Tbilisi on May 26.

"No war has been started by [members of the] European Union since its inception. Instead, the real war party is one and only one that we see today in our occupied territories: Russian imperialism,” she added.

Russia maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.

The EU in December granted candidate status to Georgia, and there had been some hope that the bloc would agree to the next stage of accession talks as early as this year.

However, EU leaders have said Georgia’s hopes of joining the bloc will be severely damaged if the government, led by the Georgian Dream party, enacts what critics call the “Russian law.”

The law would require civil society and media organizations that get more than 20 percent of funding from foreign sources to report that fact to local authorities and submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.

Many critics have claimed that the law is similar to one used by the Kremlin to crack down on independent voices in Russia.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other leaders of the Georgian Dream party have blasted U.S. and EU comments regarding the legislation -- formally called the Law On Transparency Of Foreign Influence -- and have insisted it is essential to maintaining transparency in civil and political matters.

Also speaking at the Independence Day ceremony, Kobakhidze hit back at Zurabishvili and her remarks about the controversial bill.

"It was the unity and reasonable steps of the people and their elected government that gave us the opportunity to maintain peace in the country for the past two years despite existential threats and multiple betrayals, including the betrayal by the president of Georgia,” he said.

A bill recently unveiled by U.S. lawmakers is aimed at persuading Georgia's government to repeal the contentious law.

Under the proposed Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia's Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act, the United States would give Georgia more economic aid, lower trade barriers, and grant more access to U.S. visas if the law were to be repealed.

But if the "foreign agent" bill becomes law, the MEGOBARI Act would require the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for the legislation.

Zurabishvili has vetoed the bill, but the Georgia Dream has enough seats in parliament to override the move. The parliament announced that discussions to override the veto would begin on May 27, with a vote likely on May 28.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly on May 26 said the alliance "remains firmly committed Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, and aspiration to join NATO. "

However, it added, "the law on the so-called 'transparency of foreign influence' is a step backwards for Georgia’s democracy and runs counter to its NATO as well as EU aspirations and values."

"If this bill becomes law, it will severely damage freedom of speech and association and undermine Georgia’s vibrant civil society and media landscape," it said in its statement.

Parliament's passing of the law has led to massive street demonstrations in Tbilisi and elsewhere, with protesters holding Georgian and EU flags and shouting anti-Russian slogans.

Organizers have called for further protests on the eve of parliament's planned actions on the president's veto.

Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.

The United States on May 26 marked the Georgian holiday, saying in a statement that it "will continue to strongly support the aspirations of the Georgian people for a Euro-Atlantic future."

"We urge Georgia’s leaders to take the steps necessary to move Georgia forward in the right direction."