As Georgia faces escalating political unrest and violent crackdowns on pro-democracy protests, former US Ambassador to Georgia, Ian Kelly, and Director of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, David Kramer have called on the Biden administration to take immediate action to counter, as they explain, the country’s slide into authoritarianism under the de facto leadership of oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Kelly and Kramer noted that over the past two weeks, hundreds of thousands of Georgians, largely youth, have protested nightly against the ruling Georgian Dream party, risking police violence and arrest. Over 400 demonstrators have reportedly been detained, with many others injured during clashes. The country’s Public Defender confirmed that police employed excessive violence to suppress dissent, raising concerns about human rights abuses.
”There is one man responsible for creating chaos in Georgia and taking the country down an authoritarian and pro-Russian path: Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian oligarch who made his fortune in Russia and then formed the Georgian Dream party, which has been the ruling party since 2012. The US government should impose immediate and public sanctions on him and on Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who announced Nov. 28, undoubtedly at Ivanishvili’s bidding, that Georgia would suspend its negotiations with the European Union,” the statement reads, adding that these actions have sparked massive protests, with 80% of Georgians expressing a desire for EU integration.
Despite Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinting at sanctions against those undermining Georgia’s democracy, the Biden administration has yet to take concrete action. Kramer and Kelly argue that failing to impose immediate sanctions on Ivanishvili and other Georgian Dream leaders risks emboldening authoritarian tendencies, demoralizing protestors, and betraying Georgia’s democratic aspirations.
The proposed measures include using the Global Magnitsky Act to freeze Ivanishvili’s assets, deny him and key allies US visas, and target Georgian lawmakers who support anti-democratic legislation. Sanctions would also extend to police and military officials involved in the violent suppression of protests.
”We recently joined with several former US diplomats and experts in an open letter published at Just Security calling for nonrecognition of the recent elections; support for the Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, a strong critic of Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream, and her calls for new elections; and sanctions on Ivanishvili and others,” the authors of the statement stressed.
As the clock runs down on the Biden administration, the authors urge decisive action, emphasizing the US’s influence in Georgia, where it has invested over $6.5 billion in aid. Without sanctions, the authors warn, Georgia could lose its chance at a democratic future aligned with the West.
“The time to act is now,” Kelly and Kramer conclude, stressing that inaction risks abandoning Georgia to authoritarian rule and Moscow’s influence.
