Georgian Opposition Calls For Banning Activities Of Two US Institutes In Country

TBILISI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2020) Members and supporters of Georgia's opposition party Alliance of Patriots of Georgia have rallied in front of the US embassy in Tbilisi, calling for banning the activity of the US International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) � non-profit organizations, which conduct opinion surveys in particular � in the country.

"We are calling on the US government: take NDI and IRI out of Georgia ... We are an independent sovereign country. No one has the right to artificially change our opinion, our attitude and our reality," the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia said in a statement.

The opposition party also called on the Georgian government to launch a probe into the activity of the US organizations, accusing the NDI and the IRI of distributing disinformation through falsifying poll results.

The Alliance of Patriots of Georgia favors starting a direct dialogue with Russia.

The opposition party has recently conducted a poll in Georgia's major cities, which has revealed that the majority of those interviewed support military non-involvement. Meanwhile, the polls of the US organizations show that most of the Georgians would like the country to join NATO and the European Union.