Protests Surround Hungary’s Orbán In Georgia

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

TBILISI/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Booed by protesters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated Georgia’s Russia-leaning Dream Party on its declared election victory despite international concerns about reported voting fraud and violence.

Speaking in Tbilisi, the capital, Orbán said he was pleased the party had prevented Georgia from becoming “a second Ukraine,” referring to its ongoing armed conflict with Russia.

He did not mention that currently,20 percent of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory is under Russian military occupation.

Russia does not allow international monitors to enter the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, which it fully controls since a brief war in 2008.

Orbán, who has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin’, echoed Georgian Dream’s preelection narrative that Western countries wanted to drag Georgia into Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The right-wing Hungarian leader angered Brussels by recently meeting Putin in Moscow while Hungary holds the rotating EU presidency.

He also opposed certain EU sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine.

EXTENSIVE DELEGATION

Hungary’s prime minister led a delegation of his senior ministers to meet Georgia’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, on Tuesday,
sidelining criticism.

In a striking rebuke, ministers from 13 European Union member states condemnedOrbán’s visit and the “violations of electoral integrity” in Georgia.

“We criticize Prime Minister Orbán’s premature visit to Georgia,” said the statement, signed by France, Germany, Poland, and 10 other member states.“He does not speak on behalf of the EU.”

Orbán “does not represent the European Union” on his visit, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in separate remarks. “The union’s rotating president has no authority in foreign policy,” he warned.

In a statement released on Sunday, co-signed with the European Commission, Borrell flagged concerns about reported pressure and intimidation of voters during Saturday’s elections.

“We call on the Central Election Commission of Georgia and other relevant authorities to fulfill their duty to swiftly, transparently, and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations thereof,” they added.

US CONCERNED

US President Joe Biden also urged the Georgian government to respond to international concern at the scale of reported violations in Saturday’s election and repeal recent Russian-style laws.

The Georgian Dream government in the South Caucasus state, which borders Russia, claimed a fourth term in power after election authorities said it had won almost 54 percent of the vote. Yet, “I have been deeply alarmed by the country’s recent democratic backsliding,” Biden said. The European Union agrees. It froze Georgia’s bid for membership and called the tensions “deeply worrying.”

The Georgian president rejected the election outcome, an opinion shared by several pro-Western opposition parties who called for a boycott of parliament.

Among the critical voices is the United National Movement, founded by former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who has already spent some three years in jail in poor health on what he views as trumped-up political charges.

Two decades ago, Saakashvili led Georgia’s Rose Revolution, and as president, he put his country on a path toward EU and NATO integration. In 2012, Orbán personally campaigned for Saakashvili during the parliamentary election season, who was then a jailed opposition leader.

He argued that Saakashvili would be crucial to the country’s European future. Fast-forward, Orbán’s visit is now reaching out to the Georgian Dream party that came to power shortly afterward.

While Georgian society appears resolutely pro-western, its government is accused of following Russia’s policies.

DEMOCRATIC RULE

The EU says Georgia has adopted laws that threaten the democratic rule of the government of 3.6 million people.

These include laws banning “LGBTQ propaganda” and laws regulating “foreign agents.”

The opposition says these will make civil society and political competition impossible, while the government claims they will only strengthen family values ​​and transparency.

Orbán, who faces similar criticism, sides with Georgia’s government, calling the West “anti-family” and “pro-war.”

He did little Tuesday to address the concerns of those involved in massive protests rocking Georgia, which faces an uncertain political future, with politicians maneuvering between Moscow’s and Brussels’ expectations.

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