In her address to the European Parliament, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili discussed the protest movement sweeping Georgia since the parliamentary elections in October.
“In some ways, we feel like we are back in 1921”, she said, “as scenes are repeating themselves” (…) “That is what explains the courage and determination with which the Georgian people are reacting today. They see what is happening as a deposition of their freedom, their future and in some ways their independence,” she said.
She emphasized, however, that this is a very peaceful movement, not a revolutionary one. “We only ask for two things: give us our voice back, because of the stolen elections, and give us our European future back,” through new elections.
President Zourabichvili stressed that what is happening in Georgia is about more than its democracy and its political choices – it is also about Europe and its strategic interests. If Georgia falls “under Russian control, it will touch upon everything from Black Sea security to connectivity, and Armenia’s European future. (…) The stakes will be high.”
