The third night of protests in the capital of Georgia against the government’s decision to stop negotiations to join the European Union He left 44 people hospitalized, officials said Sunday.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament on Saturday night, throwing stones and setting off fireworks, while police deployed water cannons and tear gas. An effigy of the founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili – a reputed billionaire who made his fortune in Russia – was burned in front of the legislature.
The Georgia Department of the Interior said Sunday that 27 protesters, 16 police officers and one media worker were hospitalized.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that “any violation of the law will be dealt with strictly.”
“And those politicians who hide in their offices and give up members of their violent groups to be severely punished,” he said in a Sunday forum.
He emphasized that it is not true that the integration of Georgia into Europe has been stopped. “The only thing we reject is the shameful and offensive fraud, which was the biggest obstacle to the integration of our European country.” The government’s announcement came hours after the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning last month’s elections in Georgia as neither free nor fair.
Zurab Tsertsvadze / AP
Kobakhidze also rejected the statement of the US State Department on Saturday that it was suspending its strategic cooperation with Georgia. The statement criticized Georgia’s decision to stop efforts to join the EU.
“You can see that the outgoing administration is trying to leave the new administration with as difficult a legacy as possible. They did this regarding Ukraine, and now regarding Georgia,” said Kobakhidze. “This will not be of any importance. We will wait for the new managers and discuss everything with them.”
Kobakhidze also confirmed that Georgia’s ambassador to the US, David Zalkaliani, was the latest of many diplomats to resign since the protests began.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and enlargement commissioner Marta Kos issued a joint statement on Sunday on the Georgian government’s decision to suspend negotiations.
“We realize that this announcement represents a departure from the policies of all previous governments of Georgia and the European aspirations of the majority of the Georgian people, as set forth in the Constitution of Georgia,” the statement said.
It reiterated the EU’s “grave concern about the country’s continued democratic retreat” and urged the Georgian authorities to “respect the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, and refrain from using force against peaceful protesters, politicians and media representatives.”
The opposition victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the October 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s ambitions to join the EU, sparked mass protests and led to a boycott of the opposition parliament.
The opposition says the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, the former ruler of Georgia, and Moscow is hoping to keep Tbilisi on track.
Speaking to the Associated Press on Saturday, pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said her country is becoming a “Russian” state and that the Georgian Dream controls major institutions.
“We do not want a revolution. We are asking for new elections, but under conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be distorted or stolen again,” said Zourabichvili.
The EU granted Georgia status in December 2023 on the condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but suspended its entry and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as damaging to democratic freedoms.
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