Georgian Opposition Calls to Ban Activities of Two US Institutes in Country

TBILISI (Sputnik) - Members and supporters of Georgian opposition party Alliance of Patriots of Georgia have rallied in front of the US Embassy in Tbilisi, calling to ban the activity of the US International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) — NPOs that conduct opinion surveys.

"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 US organisations, accusing the NDI and the IRI of distributing disinformation by falsifying poll results.

An opposition demonstrator stands in front police line at Georgian Parliament

© AP Photo / Zurab Tsertsvadze

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

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