Georgia, TBILISI (AP) Four nights of protests in the Georgian capital have resulted in the arrest of more than 200 people after the government decided to halt talks to join the European Union after the bloc criticized the nation’s parliamentary election.
Mass protests have been held in response to the ruling Georgian Dream party’s disputed victory in the country’s parliamentary election on October 26, which is largely interpreted as a referendum on Georgia’s EU membership aspirations. The opposition has boycotted the parliament.
Both the country’s pro-Western president and the opposition claimed that Moscow had assisted in the vote’s manipulation.
Sunday marked the fourth night that tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament. Police used water cannons and tear gas in response to some demonstrators’ fireworks.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry reported on Monday that three protestors had been arrested on criminal charges and 224 others had been held on administrative grounds. Three police officers were admitted to the hospital, while 113 others need medical attention thus far.
Demonstrators run away from a cloud of tear gas during a rally against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Image courtesy of Zurab Tsertsvadze/Associated Press
Many of the demonstrators who were arrested had facial and head injuries, including shattered bones and eye sockets, according to Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili. She claimed in a post on X that some people were routinely beaten between being arrested and being taken to detention centers, citing attorneys who defend the prisoners.
At the end of the year, Zourabichvili, who primarily performs ceremonial duties, is scheduled to step down. She has stated that she will hold her position until a legitimate parliament elects a new president.
The ruling party is allegedly utilizing Russian tactics to suppress free expression and manipulate the election, according to Zourabichvili.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated on Monday that Russia sees similarities between the events in Georgia and those in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014, when the pro-Russian president at the time chose not to sign an association agreement with the EU, sparking a wave of protests.
Russia is not meddling in Georgia, according to Peskov, but he implied that others were attempting to cause instability.
He stated, “All the signs point to an attempt to carry out an Orange Revolution,” alluding to demonstrations that followed a contentious election in Ukraine during the winter of 2004–2005 that resulted in the election of a pro-Western administration.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream issued a warning ahead of Sunday’s demonstration, saying that any infraction will be dealt with harshly.
He stated during a conference that politicians who hide in their offices and subject members of their violent groups to harsh punishment will also be held accountable.
He maintained that the claim that Georgia’s European integration had been put on hold was untrue. The humiliating and aggressive extortion, which was actually a major barrier to our nation’s European integration, is the single thing we have resisted.
The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the October Georgia election as neither free nor fair, just hours before the government said it would halt the EU membership process.
Additionally, Kobakhidze denied the U.S. State Department’s announcement on Saturday that it had suspended its strategic ties with Georgia and denounced the decision to terminate its EU admission ambitions.
It is evident that the departing administration in the United States is attempting to leave the next administration with a legacy that is as challenging as possible. According to Kobakhidze, they are acting in this way toward Ukraine and, more recently, Georgia. There will be no fundamental relevance to this. We’ll wait for the new government to take office and talk to them about everything.
Additionally, Kobakhidze revealed that David Zalkaliani, Georgia’s ambassador to the United States, was the most recent envoy to resign since the protests began.
Speaking to President Zourabichvili on Sunday, European Council President Antonio Costa and Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas denounced the violence against protestors and pointed out that the government’s actions were against the desire of the people, Costa wrote on X.
Kallas and EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos issued a joint statement on Sunday as well.
As stated in the Georgia Constitution, we observe that this announcement represents a departure from the policy of all previous Georgian governments and the European ambitions of the great majority of Georgians, the statement said.
It reaffirmed the EU’s grave concerns on the nation’s ongoing democratic regression and called on Georgian authorities to respect the freedoms of assembly and expression and to abstain from using force against peaceful demonstrators, elected officials, and media representatives.
The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, provided it complied with the bloc’s recommendations. However, earlier this year, when a foreign influence law was passed that was generally viewed as a blow to democratic freedoms, the EU put a halt to Georgia’s entrance and stopped providing financial support.
Georgian Dream has progressively enacted oppressive legislation that restricts LGBTQ+ rights and cracks down on free speech, much like Russia. On Monday, a legislation that forbids same-sex marriages, same-sex adoptions, and media representations and public support of LGBTQ+ relationships and individuals went into effect.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Zourabichvili claimed that Georgian Dream controlled the main institutions and that her nation was turning into a state that was something similar to Russia.
A revolution is not what we are calling for. We’re calling for fresh elections, but with provisions that guarantee the people’s will won’t be manipulated or stolen once more, Zourabichvili stated.
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