AZE.US
Marika Mikiashvili, international secretary of Georgia’s opposition Droa party, said the ruling Georgian Dream party is pushing the country toward dictatorship and that Georgian society noticed the danger too late.
Speaking in an interview with CIVIL.NET, Mikiashvili said Georgia’s current political crisis did not emerge overnight. In her view, the warning signs became visible after the 2019 protests, but the decisive turning point came in 2024, when the authorities brought back the so-called foreign agents law.
Mikiashvili said the law was not about transparency, arguing that NGOs in Georgia were already required to report their funding. According to her, the real goal was to weaken civil society, pressure the opposition and intimidate independent organizations.
She also pointed to the case of Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria, who was sentenced to one and a half years in prison after writing “Russian Dream” on a Georgian Dream campaign banner. Mikiashvili said Khoshtaria acted in solidarity with a student who had done the same earlier, and claimed that the opposition politician’s health has deteriorated in prison.
“The illusion of safety destroyed Georgia,” Mikiashvili said, describing how many citizens and Western partners did not believe the country could slide back toward authoritarianism or return to Russia’s orbit.
She said Georgian Dream also benefited from fear-based rhetoric, including claims that the opposition would drag Georgia into war with Russia. In her opinion, that message worked on part of society because memories of past conflicts remain strong.
Commenting on Armenia, Mikiashvili said interest in the country has grown sharply in Georgia, both politically and culturally. She said many Georgians now see Armenia as a country trying to move away from Russia’s orbit and toward European standards.
At the same time, she warned that no young democracy in the South Caucasus should assume it is protected from authoritarian backsliding. According to Mikiashvili, Armenia should learn from Georgia’s experience by strengthening institutions, building a constructive democratic opposition and avoiding the illusion that democracy is guaranteed.
AZE.US