There was renewed uproar in the city's streets after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend negotiations with the European Union on membership of the organization until 2028. Pro-Western supporters, including Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, disagree with the government's decision.
But Thursday's protests against the prime minister's move were not peaceful. Reports of clashes between demonstrators and police are increasing.
Protest demonstrations take place in Georgia following the Prime Minister's decision. The president also participated
Georgian media reported that uniformed police in the country's capital, Tbilisi, used pepper spray and even threw smoke grenades at people who had gathered. It was in the capital that Salome Zurabishvili joined the demonstrators. The President of Georgia had already expressed his position and strongly condemned the Prime Minister's decision, but this time he sided with the people.
– Do you serve Georgia or Russia? – Zurabishvili asked the guard. As a result, social media has been flooded with videos of protests. On one street in Tbilisi, a large number of citizens can be seen carrying Georgian and European Union flags. There are probably smoke bombs flying over their heads and you can see lasers as well. Georgian media reported that special forces began using water cannons against demonstrators.
Georgians gathered and began barricading Rustaveli Street, Tbilisi's longest street. The recording shows protesters trying to pull away from police with flammable objects, including: Furniture placed on the road.
Initial information about the arrest of protesters has also emerged, as can be seen in one of the recordings online. The Georgia Young Lawyers Association appealed to law enforcement officers to refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters. As added, “their protests are justified.”
Police are always present on the streets of Georgian cities, and the interior ministry said protests near parliament “exceeded the norms set by the law on public assemblies and demonstrations.” The ministry also claims that some protesters insulted police officers and threw various objects at them.
Georgians also took to the streets in other cities, including: In Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi.
Georgia. Crowds in the streets denounce cancellation of EU accession talks
The Georgian Prime Minister's decision to halt talks with the European Union on membership has outraged not only the opposition. “44 employees of Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemn today's anti-European statement by the head of government,” the country's president said online.
“Georgia, Romania. Is this enough for Western leaders to decipher Russia's European strategy? Military war in Ukraine, 'election war' in Tbilisi and Bucharest,” Salome Zurabishvili writes in the next entry emphasized. The President attended the protests in Tbilisi and also addressed European partners, noting that the time has come for them to speak out on this issue.
“Let's not let Russia take a 'free ride'! Georgians will protect the future of Europe and will do so until elections are repeated in a free and fair environment!”, the President stressed.
Earlier, the Prime Minister's decision was condemned by, among others: “The self-proclaimed illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people,” Giorgi Vashadze, one of Georgia's opposition leaders, stressed in a social media post.
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