Police have arrested nearly 300 people since the start of the movement against the ruling party, accused of having rigged the legislative elections and curbing the country's European ambitions.
Published on 06/12/2024 22:56
Reading time: 2min
“Fundamental rights (…) must be respected and protected.” The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland “firmly” sentenced “the disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators” in Georgia, while the opposition is organizing a new night of mobilization, Friday December 6.
“We (…) regret the decision of the ruling party, the Georgian Dream, to put aside discussions on membership of the European Union” until 2028, write the three ministers. This government decision is one of the reasons which pushed thousands of demonstrators to march through the streets of several cities including the capital Tbilisi, for the ninth consecutive night. The opposition also accuses Georgian Dream to have rigged the results of the last legislative electionsand pro-Russian autocratic drift.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said he had “won an important battle against liberal-fascism” in Georgia, a term he uses to describe his opponents, and was also pleased to see the Ministry of the Interior “successfully neutralize the protesters”. Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the opposition Akhali party brutally arrested on Wednesday, was sentenced to 12 days in prison, and the leader of the opposition group Strong Georgia, Alexander Elisashvili, was remanded in custody for two months. Some 300 people have been arrested since the start of the movement, including three on Friday, according to official figures.
