Protesters clashed with police in Georgia’s capital for a fourth night on Sunday, in signs that opposition to the government’s decision is spreading across the country. Stop negotiations to join the European Union.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Monday that 21 police officers were injured during a crackdown on thousands of pro-EU demonstrations.
A total of 224 people were arrested at rallies supported by pro-Western president Salome Zourabichvili.
“Another powerful night of Georgians standing firm to defend their constitution and their European choice. The determination in the streets shows no signs of stopping! Zourabichvili, who supports Georgia’s integration with the EU, posted on X.
Tensions have been rising in the country of 3.7 million for months between opponents who accuse the ruling party of pursuing the Georgian Dream and increasingly authoritarian, anti-Western and pro-Russian policies.
The crisis deepened after the government announced on Thursday that it would suspend EU talks for four years, as thousands of pro-EU protesters faced off against police who used tear gas and water cannon.
Zourabichvili won, calling for pressure on the Constitutional Court to annul last month’s election Georgian dream. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll is rigged.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has rejected calls for new elections.
Beyond the capital, Georgian news agency Interpress said protesters blocked the access road to the country’s main commercial port in the Black Sea city of Poti.
Georgian media reported protests in at least eight cities and towns. Opposition TV channel Formula showed footage of people throwing eggs at the local Georgian Dream office in Khashuri, a town of 20,000 in central Georgia.
Kobakhidze dismissed Washington’s announcement on Saturday that it would suspend its strategic partnership with Tbilisi. It’s a “temporary event,” he said, and Georgia will talk to President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration when he takes office in January.
President Zourabichvili said on Saturday She won’t go down When her term ends this month, the new parliament is said to be illegitimate and has no power to name her successor.
For much of the period following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia leaned strongly toward the West and sought to loosen Russian influence, losing a brief war in 2008. It became an official candidate for EU accession last year. And finally NATO membership is promised.
But domestic opponents and Western governments are concerned that Georgian Dream intends — despite its denials — to abandon that course. In June, it passed a law mandating non-governmental organizations to register as “foreign agents” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. Parliament in September Legislation restricting LGBTQ rights is approved.
The government says it is defending the country’s sovereignty and trying to prevent Ukraine from suffering its fate by being dragged into a new war with Russia.
