2021-02-24 23:12:44
The arrest represents the latest twist in a long-running tug-of-war over the country’s relationship with Russia, whose troops have occupied around a fifth of its territory since a brief war between the two neighbors in 2008. Melia has been a key voice accusing the country’s leaders of drifting back into Moscow’s orbit, despite widespread popular support for closer integration with Europe and the West. His arrest thus presents a vexing challenge to Western countries trying to counteract Moscow’s revanchism — “the logic of escalation is getting the upper hand,” warned EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell.
The same challenge was on the mind of protests outside Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday, as people waved placards reading “Stop Putin’s Dream” and “We don’t want a return to the Soviet Union.”
“I don’t care about Nika Melia,” said Zura Mchedlishvili, one of those protesting outside parliament after the arrest. “This is about stopping Russian influence.”
While the 41-year-old Melia’s profile has soared since taking over as UNM leader from the former President Mikheil Saakashvili, he has also faced criticism for what some say is his overly confrontational style.
“This is a bigger issue than Melia,” agreed Khatia Gremelashvili, a 25-year-old business analyst standing nearby. “The way things are going under this government, we are just going downhill economically and democratically.”
A brief pause
Last week, police had backed off from arresting Melia — ostensibly for violating bail conditions — after then-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia suddenly resigned, saying that detaining the high-profile opposition figure posed “unacceptable” risks at a time of increasing political polarization and as the country battles the pandemic.
But Gakharia’s successor, Irakli Garibashvili, quickly changed the narrative.
On Tuesday, he called Melia “a criminal” in a statement congratulating the police for carrying out the arrest, which he said was about demonstrating that every Georgian citizen is “obliged to obey the rule of law,” regardless of status.
But key Western allies were not impressed.
“Georgia has moved backward on its path towards becoming a stronger democracy in the Euro-Atlantic family of nations,” the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said in a statement.
In the U.S., Representative Adam Kinzinger — a Republican and long-time supporter of Georgia’s hopes of joining NATO — called Melia’s arrest “incredibly dumb” in one tweet. In an earlier post, Kinzinger had warned that continued U.S. support for Georgia was not guaranteed if it continued on its current path.
British Ambassador Mark Clayton said he had been “shocked” by the police raid to arrest Melia, adding that “violence and chaos in Tbilisi are the last thing Georgia needs right now.”
271 views20:12
N
