Date published: 30/11/2024 – 14:08

3 minutes

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October 26 parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition said were rigged.

The interior ministry said 107 people were detained for “disobedience of lawful police orders and petty hooliganism”.

“During the night, protesters threw various objects, including stones, pyrotechnics, glass bottles and metal objects, at law enforcement officers,” it said, adding that “10 interior ministry employees were injured.”

The ministry announced that 32 police officers were injured and 43 protesters were detained on Thursday.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday that Georgia will not try to open up accession negotiations The agreement with the European Union until 2028 sparked a harsh reaction from the opposition and two days of protests.

He later accused the opposition and the EU ambassador to Georgia of distorting his words and stressed that membership in the bloc “by 2030” remained his “number one priority”.

Clashes in front of parliament

On Friday, French news agency AFP reporters saw riot police firing water cannon and tear gas at pro-EU protesters who gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi and threw eggs and fireworks.

Clashes later broke out between protesters and police, who moved in to clear the area outside parliament, beating demonstrators and some throwing objects.

“I express my gratitude to the interior minister and every police officer who yesterday defended the constitutional order of Georgia and protected the sovereignty and independence of the nation,” Kobakhidze said at a press conference on Saturday. he said.

According to independent TV channel Mtavari, protests were also held in other cities of Georgia on Friday.

Independent TV channel Pirveli said one of its journalists was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Georgia’s special investigative service said it had opened an investigation into “alleged abuse of official authority by law enforcement through violence against protesters and media representatives.”

International isolation risk

Hundreds of public officials, including the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and education, as well as many judges, issued joint statements protesting Kobakhidze’s decision to postpone EU accession negotiations.

Approximately 160 Georgian diplomats criticized the move on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and dragged the country into “international isolation”.

More than a hundred schools and universities suspended academic activities in protest.

Pro-Western opposition parties boycotted the new parliament, while President Salome Zurabishvili tried to annul the election results through the country’s constitutional court.

Georgian president calls for new elections to resolve political crisis

The pro-Western president, who is at odds with the ruling party, said in a televised address to the nation on Friday evening: “The resistance movement has begun… I stand in solidarity with it.”

“We will remain united until Georgia achieves its goals: returning to the European path and securing new elections.”

Later october voteA group of Georgia’s leading election observers says they have evidence of a sophisticated scheme for large-scale election fraud.

Brussels demanded an investigation into what were reported by election observers as “serious (election) irregularities”.

Despite the opposition boycotting parliament, which faces a serious crisis of legitimacy, Georgian Dream MPs voted unanimously on Thursday for Kobakhidze to continue as prime minister.

‘Brutal pressure’

“Police actions in Tbilisi mark yet another punitive attack on the right to peaceful assembly,” Amnesty International said.

France, England, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania were among the countries that expressed concerns.

Human rights office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (LAMENT) said: “The action of law enforcement officers overseeing peaceful protests in Georgia is deeply concerning and a serious violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”

European leaders seek a common future at Budapest summit

“The disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force during protests where the vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful affected many protesters and journalists.”

The European Council condemned what it called “brutal repression” and called: Georgia Staying “loyal to European values”.

In recent years, critics have accused Georgian Dream, which has been in power for more than a decade, of moving the country away from Europe and closer to Russia.

(with AFP)