The leader of Georgia’s main opposition party was arrested and placed in partial detention amid deepening political turmoil in Georgia that threatens to plunge the regions only democracy into deep crisis.
 
Police units so called “RoboCops” stormed oppositions party HQ and arrested Melia. After Melia’s arrest, thousands of protestors flooded to the streets of the capital demanding his release. There were also other opposition leaders who suffered during the assault. 

Before the raid? The ex-prime minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned amid a debate within the party over enforcing an arrest warrant for Melia. “This is a potential make or break moment for Georgia said David Kramer, who served as assistant U.S secretary of state for democracy? Human rights and labor under President George W. Bush. “The international community needs to respond swiftly and forcefully and say that unless Melia is released and all the parties return to the negotiation table, sanctions are going to be imposed on those responsible for pushing Georgia to this crisis point”. The political standoff stems from parliamentary elections starting in October won by the Georgian dream, which is backed by the billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. 

In his place, Georgian Dream nominated “Mini StrongMan” Irakli Garibashvili, a former defence minister and ally of Ivanishvili, who quickly ordered the arrest of Melia at his party headquarters. After the raid, Garibashvili called Melia “an ordinary criminal and terrorist” and asked: “When did the political party become a safe haven for such criminals?” The police officials defended Tuesday’s raid, saying they used “proportional force” against the opposition members.  UNM leader told that police had also “stolen computer servers” from the party’s headquarters. “The only people smiling about this are sitting in the Kremlin,” Kramer said. “They know this damages Georgia’s prospects for NATO and EU membership.” The escalating standoff over the disputed election has alarmed Western diplomats who for years have held up Georgia as a democratic success story in the former Soviet Union.

Polarization and confrontation in Georgian society had peaked. Georgia is known as the democratic island in a very hard region surrounded by authoritarian regimes, but current situation show that the Gov of GM (Georgian Dream) had set country back considerably. 

Opposition leaders have in the past been jailed and held in detention, without trials, but Europe’s reactions have always been firm and in the end, they would be freed. Elections have been manipulated, but they have at least taken place and have ultimately proven to be a problem for the governing party which resorted to rigging the results as well as persecuting the opposition and waging a crackdown on the independent media. 

Georgian leaders, since the state become independent behave like feudal lords who own the whole state and obey the people, because of this many don’t have the sense of responsibility for the state, institutions, economy and etc. Any criticism of The GD members, leaders and Gov is perceived as a hostile statement.

Based on the latest statements it becomes clear that the West is concerned about the events in Georgia and is strongly demanding release the political prisoners and start negotiations between the parties over political resolution.

The Gov doesn’t want to listen to the western allies and keeps on to complicate the situation. The tone of Georgia's friends and allies has already got much stricter and if there will not be any resolution we could see sanctions against Georgia and suspending the visa free regime. Meanwhile, street protests continue as people demand release of political prisoners and calling for the early elections. If Biden wants to make good on his promise that America is back as a global leader, he cannot be neutral in the battle for Georgia’s democratic soul. While the US is not a South Caucasian state, it should be a South Caucasian power. Washington should not delegate the region to Brussels. US leadership is needed to break the political impasse in Georgia.