Thousands of protesters returned outside the parliament in Tbilisi on Saturday to protest against the Georgian government’s decision to suspend European Union (EU) membership talks amid the post-election crisis. Police deployed water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray to confront pro-European protesters who took to the streets after Georgia’s ruling party said on Thursday it would end EU accession talks until 2028. Is stopping.
Protesters marched towards the Soviet-built parliament building carrying Georgian and EU flags. According to a Reuters report, they threw fireworks at police officers, while officers forced them to move away from the assembly down Rustaveli Boulevard towards the Opera House. The Black Sea country’s Interior Ministry said at least 10 Interior Ministry employees and 32 police officers were injured during confrontations with protesters.
According to the Interior Ministry, 107 people were detained for “disobedience to lawful police orders and minor hooliganism”.
reuters
“Throughout the night…protesters threw various objects, including rocks, pyrotechnic devices, glass bottles and metal objects, at law enforcement officers,” it said.
unrest in girogia
Georgia is in turmoil as the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in an October 26 parliamentary election that the pro-EU opposition has described as fraudulent. The party has ruled Georgia since 2012 and is often accused by critics of trying to move the country closer to Russia and away from the European Union. Ahead of the October elections, it pushed legislation targeting independent civil society and curbing LGBTQ rights, drawing warnings from Brussels.
After claiming victory for the party in last month’s election, opposition MPs have questioned the election results. He boycotted the new Parliament alleging fraud.
Subsequently, the country’s President Salome Zourabishvili – who is reportedly at odds with the ruling party – called the one-party parliament “unconstitutional”. He demanded the annulment of the election results through the country’s constitutional court.
reuters
The European Parliament backed a resolution on Thursday calling last month’s election the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis” and saying the ruling party was “fully responsible”, according to a BBC report.
The resolution also expressed concern over reports of vote rigging and buying, voter intimidation and harassment of observers.
Following the motion, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said his government had “decided not to put the issue of EU accession on the agenda until the end of 2028”.
He said Georgia would continue to implement the reforms necessary for accession and that it still planned to join by 2030, but added that “it is important for the EU to respect our national interests and traditional values”.
Georgia has official EU candidate status from 2023. However, Belgium blocked Georgia’s accession process earlier this year under the country’s “Russia-style law”, which bars organizations accused of “advancing the interests of a foreign power”, the BBC reports. Was targeted.
latest protest
Joining the European Union is a popular issue in Georgia, and the halt to application talks has caused widespread anger among people whose goal is to see EU membership written into its constitution. Thousands of people gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on Thursday, before riot police used water cannons and gas to disperse them.
reuters
Protesters returned on Friday and Saturday and faced a violent government crackdown on resistance. Independent TV station Pirveli said one of its journalists and a cameraman covering the protests were hospitalized with serious injuries after being beaten by police.
Pro-Western President Zurabishvili has also expressed his support for the protesters. In a televised address to the nation, she said, “The protest movement has begun…I stand in solidarity with it.
“We will remain united until Georgia achieves its goals: returning to its European path, securing new elections.”
On Friday, hundreds of serving employees of the country’s foreign, defence, education and justice ministries signed open letters declaring the ban on talks unconstitutional.
Several private universities have said they are suspending studies amid the unrest, while business groups have called on the government to review its stance.
Deteriorating relations with the European Union
Georgia’s move to halt membership talks caps months of deteriorating relations between Tbilisi and the West, which has accused the Georgian Dream government of authoritarian and pro-Russian leanings.
Georgian Dream has this year passed laws against so-called “foreign agents” and LGBT rights, which critics say are harsh in nature and Russian in inspiration.
The party, widely believed to be controlled by its founder, billionaire and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, says it wants to eventually join the European Union, and that legislation it has passed would protect Georgia’s traditional values. essential for.
The EU ambassador to Georgia on Friday described Georgian Dream’s stance as “heartbreaking” and condemned the crackdown on protesters.
