The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia holds rally in front of US Embassy in Tbilisi

The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, a controversial, anti-Western, nationalistic opposition party, held a protest in front of the US Embassy in Tbilisi on September 15. The protest came after an incident a few days ago, when the leader of the party and a Georgian Parliament member Irma Inashvili interrupted an international conference at the Rooms hotel, which was followed by an altercation between the MP and the panel members.

With anti-Western and anti-American messages, the protesters demanded former US Department of State officials Matthew Bryza and David Kramer be declared persona non grata in Georgia.



Party leader Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi also voiced anti-Western, anti-NATO messages and said: “direct dialogue with Russia and Sokhumi” is needed. According to Inashvili, their party will continue the protests.

Earlier this week, Inashvili’s party also held a protest in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia with the same demands. They also addressed the Prosecutor’s Office and demanded for the actions of Bryza and Kramer at the conference to be investigated.

According to the MP Emzar Kvitsiani, who verbally assaulted and spit on protesters in front of the Parliament last week, people who come from the US and ‘force America to Georgians’ should be declared persona non grata.

“The main demand of the protest is freedom, freedom of Georgia and its government. Freedom from Bryzas and Kramers. Bryza was directly involved in handing over the Kodori Gorge. Bryza is a participant of numerous calamities in Georgia. They went overboard, because the Georgian nation respected Americans. They committed a lot of crimes with Saakasvhili. Today, they are protected and are in cohabitation with our government. Therefore we want the freedom of our country, our government and the freedom of the United States itself, probably,” he said.

After the rally, Tarkhan-Mouravi once again reiterated the demands of the protest and noted that Georgia doesn’t need NATO or foreign training of the Georgian army.

“I have said this many times, it is good if 29 countries support and defend you. This will not happen. This is a lie. We have been aspiring for 30 years and have achieved nothing. Why? Because the key members - Germany and France, openly say Georgia will not join NATO. Our demand is Georgia’s neutrality. No blocs, no bases, no foreign trainings. New peace policy and direct dialogue and rebuilding broken bridges with Sokhumi, Tskhinvali, dialogue with Moscow, normalization of relations, aspiration for restoration of the country's territorial integrity - these are the demands,” said Tarkhan-Mouravi.

Opposition MP of the European Georgia party Sergi Kapanadze has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of encouraging such anti-Western protests.

“All the rallies that the Alliance of Patriots hold, whether it be gatherings, marches or such protests, are in reality carried out by the Georgian Dream partisans. …This is organized by the most pro-Russian wing of the Georgian Dream. Their goal is for the Western idea to get damaged in Georgia, but they won’t succeed, they’re doomed for failure, as demonstrated by the June 20 developments. Alliance of Patriots becoming so active recently is a direct result of the Georgian people clearly telling Putin ‘no’, this hurts them the most,” said Kapanadze.

While the pro-Kremlin powers are still making headlines and spreading their vile, anti-state, subversive messages that harm the future of stable and developed Georgia, those in favor of the Western path of Georgia should work hard to reach the masses and make sure that the vision that they hold becomes a reality.