Fourth consecutive night of protests in Georgia

Photo: Giorgi Arjevanidze Agence France-Presse Protesters wave Georgian national flags in front of riot police during a demonstration in front of the parliament building against the government's decision to delay European Union accession talks due to a post-election crisis, in Tbilisi, December 1, 2024.

Léa Dauple – Agence France-Presse and Irakli Metreveli – Agence France-Presse

Published at 1:24 p.m.

• Europe

Thousands of pro-EU protesters gathered again in several cities in Georgia on Sunday evening, for the fourth night in a row, to protest against the government, which has ruled out holding new legislative elections as demanded by the opposition.

This former Soviet republic has been in turmoil since the legislative elections of 26 October, won by the ruling Georgian Dream party but denounced as tainted by irregularities by the opposition, which is boycotting the new Parliament.

A new election is being demanded by the opposition parties as well as by President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the government and has announced that she will refuse to resign at the end of the year until new legislative elections are held.

“Of course not,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze replied to journalists who asked him whether the government, accused of pro-Russian authoritarianism, would agree to hold new elections.

The street demonstrations, which brought together thousands of protesters for three consecutive nights, were triggered by the government's decision to postpone the country's ambitions to join the European Union until 2028.

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• Thousands of pro-EU protesters for the third consecutive evening in Georgia

The rallies in Tbilisi and other cities were repressed with water cannons and tear gas by the police, who made more than 150 arrests. Dozens of police officers were injured by projectiles and firecrackers thrown by the demonstrators.

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A few thousand pro-European demonstrators gathered early Sunday evening in front of the Parliament, waving European and Georgian flags and shouting: “Georgia!” ».

Some were banging on the metal door blocking the entrance to the building, and others had put on diving masks to protect their eyes from the tear gas, which has been used extensively by the police in recent days.

Other demonstrations were organised in other Georgian cities.

«Unacceptable» for the EU

The new head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, criticised on Sunday the disproportionate use of force by the police.

“It is clear that the use of violence against peaceful protesters is not acceptable and that the Georgian government must respect the will of the Georgian people,” she said during a support visit to Ukraine on her first day in office.

The Interior Ministry said that “the actions of some individuals present at the protest turned violent shortly after it began” and that the police were responding “in accordance with the law.”

Alongside the protests, hundreds of officials, including from the foreign, defense and education ministries, as well as judges, issued joint statements in protest.

More than a hundred schools and universities suspended their classes. activities.

Some 160 Georgian diplomats have also criticised the government's decision, saying it is unconstitutional and leads to the country's “international isolation”. Many Georgian ambassadors have resigned in protest.

The country's pro-European president, Salome Zurabishvili, supports the protest movement but has limited powers. She assured that she would not leave her post as planned at the end of December.

“As long as there are no new elections and a parliament that elects a new president according to new rules, my mandate will continue,” she said in an exclusive interview with AFP.

The former French diplomat born in Paris announced that she had set up a “national council” on Saturday composed of opposition parties and representatives of civil society.

“Serious irregularities”

The head of European diplomacy, who took office on Sunday, said that the situation in Georgia had “clear consequences” for relations with the EU.

Ms Kallas explained that “options” had been proposed to the 27 EU member states on how to respond, including through the imposition of sanctions, and that an agreement had to be reached on this.

The Georgian government, for its part, accuses Brussels of “blackmail” but still assures that it plans to join the EU by 2030.

After the October vote, a group Georgia election observers said they had evidence of a complex system of large-scale voter fraud.

Brussels has demanded an investigation into what it called “serious” irregularities.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller “condemned the excessive use of force against Georgians exercising their freedom to protest.” “We have suspended our strategic partnership with Georgia,” he added.

France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania have also expressed concern.