John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine and director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, said in an interview with “Netgazeti” that the attack on Tbilisi Pride was a crime and that Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili had reacted by denying responsibility.
Herbst also notes that “peaceful protest is a critically important right in a democracy.” 30 years after independence, the Prime Minister must understand this and act accordingly. “The attackers must be held accountable before the law, and the prime minister must take care of that.”
According to John Herbst, Georgia’s greatest strength on the path to EU and NATO membership was a democratic and open society. Such development of events that goes against this does not help Georgia’s candidacy.
