A march in support of the US MEGOBARI Act took place in the capital of Georgia

On May 11, the 165th day of protests, a rally in support of the controversial US bill – the MEGOBARI Act – took place in Tbilisi. Demonstrators reached the US Embassy, ​​from where they headed to Rustaveli Avenue, the traditional rally site in front of the parliament.

The Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI Act) was initiated in response to the country’s deviation from democracy. The bill provides for a review of US-Georgian relations, including all aid programs, and requires US President Donald Trump to impose sanctions against the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream and their supporters. At the same time, the document talks about the liberalization of the visa regime between the United States and Georgia, the expansion of economic cooperation and a broad security support package - all of which will be implemented if Tbilisi returns to the path of democracy and abandons anti-Western rhetoric.

The bill was recently approved by the US House of Representatives, after which it must be adopted by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump. The ruling party of Georgia MEGOBARI harshly criticizes the act and links it to the conspiracy theory of the Deep State. In particular, a member of the Georgian Dream, Archil Gorduladze, said that the MEGOBARI Act "is not worth the paper it is written on", since it was proposed by senators who hate Georgia. Such blackmail, according to Gorduladze, makes no sense. The Georgian Dream particularly criticized the author of the bill, Joe Wilson, stating that he lobbies the interests of the Georgian opposition for money. In particular, the discussion was about the funding of the congressman by the former head of the Georgian Ministry of Defense, David Kezerashvili - this assertion Wilson soon rejected.

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