Georgia’s Independence Day celebrations pass without incident

TBILISI, DFWatch–Despite deepening polarization, this year’s Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi passed without major disruptions.

Commentators credited careful planning and the physical separation of events with avoiding incidents, as the country remains engulfed in a deep political crisis where opposition leaders still, 212 days after the election, and with 180 days of continuous rallies, refuse to recognize the sitting parliament and president.

Opposition events spanning Rustaveli Avenue with thematic booths and workshops that were carefully located so as to avoid direct confrontations between anti-government protesters and government supporters. Some visiting members of the European Parliament participated in the opposition’s events.

Meanwhile, Western diplomats, representing governments sympathetic to the opposition, followed protocol and attended official ceremonies, even though many of their superiors in Europe have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the sitting Georgian Dream (GD) government by withholding recognition of the 26 October, 2024, parliamentary election.

The official state ceremony opened in the morning, featuring military oath-taking ceremonies at Freedom Square and five historic sites across the country. Military equipment displays were held in 21 municipalities. “Georgia has never been more independent than it is today,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in his address, emphasizing national sovereignty and traditional values.

At 15:00, six opposition marches converged on Rustaveli Avenue, with a speech by former President Salome Zourabichvili at 21:00. Despite formally ending her term last December, she is still regarded as a de facto president by the opposition movement and has called for a boycott of the upcoming local elections later this year, unless held under new rules.

The symbolic moment of 17:10, the time Georgia declared independence in 1918, was marked by performances of the national anthem across the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Georgians, praising their “resilience and shared commitment to democracy.” EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski called Independence Day “a powerful reminder that democracy should never be taken for granted.” Similar greetings came from leaders in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, India, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.