Many thousands of demonstrators gathered in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Saturday, protesting against the government’s decision to halt talks to join the European Union. The protesters, who were mostly young and waving EU flags, built barricades, broke windows and set off fireworks outside parliament. Riot police responded with water cannon and tear gas.
The demonstrations were the largest since the ruling party, Georgian Dream, was re-elected last month. The party, which is increasingly anti-Western, accused the pro-EU opposition of plotting a revolution.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of attempting to “overthrow the government by force” and said that some people want to repeat the scenario of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protest, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who opposes the government and supports EU membership, said she would not leave office when her term ends next month, as the new parliament is illegitimate and has no authority to name her successor.
Georgia’s ombudsman said that police “brutality” against protesters had been “disturbing”, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) expressed deep concern. The EU has said it deeply regrets the government’s move, and the U.S. State Department suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia in response.
Major businesses, including London-listed banks TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, and the powerful Orthodox Church, have also expressed support for EU accession. Football star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who plays for Napoli in Italy’s Serie A, spoke out in favour of the protesters, saying that his country hurts and his people hurt from the violence.
The halt to EU accession talks comes after months of deteriorating relations between the Georgian government and the West. The EU had previously stalled Georgia’s application over laws requiring groups that receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents, and laws on LGBTQ+ rights that it has described as draconian.
