Georgia: More than 40 arrested at pro-EU protest

Georgia sank into its post-election crisis on Friday after police dispersed pro-European protesters denouncing the government's decision, accused of pro-Russian authoritarianism, to suspend integration efforts. the European Union until 2028.

A new demonstration is planned for 7:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) local time on Friday.

This Caucasian country, accustomed to political crises, has been in turmoil since the legislative elections of October 26 won by the Georgian Dream party in power, but denounced as tainted by irregularities by the pro-Western opposition and the president, Salome Zurabishvili.

The Georgian Dream and the government that emerged from it are accused by their detractors of diverting this former Soviet republic from its ambition to join the European Union and, on the contrary, of wanting to bring Tbilisi closer to Moscow, while some Georgians consider Russia, which invaded it in 2008, as a threat and the West as a bulwark.

While the authorities still assure that they intend to join the EU in 2030, it announced Thursday evening that it would postpone the question until the end of 2028.

Clashes between pro-EU protesters and police in the early morning in Tbilisi, Georgia, on November 29, 2024 © AFP – Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE

The decision led thousands of pro-EU opposition supporters to take to the streets in protest, gathering in the capital Tbilisi and other cities overnight.

On Thursday night and Friday morning, riot police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas and water cannons, hitting protesters and journalists outside parliament, an AFP journalist said.

Across the street, protesters had erected barricades that they inflamed.

– “Repression” –

Members of the security forces disperse pro-European protesters in Tbilisi, on November 28, 2024 in Georgia © AFP – Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE

According to the Interior Ministry, “43 people were arrested.” According to him, 32 police officers were injured “as a result of the illegal and violent actions of the demonstrators.”

Two members of the opposition Coalition for Change party, Elene Khochtaria and Nana Malachkhia, were injured in the clashes. The former suffered a broken arm, while the latter suffered a fractured nose, according to their party.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Georgia has been experiencing political turbulence since the contested victory of the Georgian Dream in the legislative elections in late October.

Security forces use tear gas to disperse protesters outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on November 28, 2024 in Georgia © AFP – Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE

The opposition is boycotting the new parliament and demonstrations have continued, so far without forcing the government to back down.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the government, has only limited powers and her term ends this year, but she is demanding that the Constitutional Court annul the results of the legislative elections, a request that is unlikely to succeed.

She denounced the “repression” of the demonstrations and called for a “firm reaction from the capitals European”.

kyiv said on Friday that it was “disappointed” by the Georgian government's decision to postpone its European ambitions until 2028, given that Ukraine experienced a pro-European revolution in 2014 after the pro-Russian authorities at the time tried to suspend the EU integration process.

“This decision, as well as the use of force against a peaceful demonstration, demonstrate the limitation of democratic processes in the country to please Moscow,” Ukrainian diplomacy denounced.

– “Blackmail” –

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution rejecting the results of the legislative elections in Georgia, denouncing “significant irregularities”. The text demands that a new election be held within a year under international supervision and that sanctions be taken against senior Georgian officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

In response, the latter, in office since February and confirmed by MEPs on Thursday, accused the European Parliament of “blackmail”.

President Salome Zourabichvili during a demonstration in Tbilisi, on November 28, 2024 in Georgia © AFP – Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE

Despite the decision to postpone the country's European ambitions to 2028, he nevertheless committed to continuing to implement the reforms needed to “become a member state in 2030”.

Georgia officially obtained candidate status for membership in December 2023, but Brussels has since frozen the process, accusing the Georgian Dream government of committing a serious democratic setback.

The Prime Minister, who had already criticized the EU and the United States for wanting to drag Georgia into the war between Russia and Ukraine, asked MEPs on Thursday that Brussels “respect our national interests and our traditional values”.

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse