Keystone-SDA
Thousands of Georgian pro-EU protesters gathered for the ninth consecutive day on Friday against the prime minister’s decision to suspend EU accession negotiations. They were dispersed with water cannons by the police.
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December 06, 2024 – 11:06 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) Riot police intervened in front of the parliament building, using water cannons and making arrests as the crowd retreated a few meters from the area, an AFP journalist noted.
Thousands of pro-European demonstrators had once again challenged the Prime Minister who claims to be “winning” his standoff against the protesters accusing the government of slowing down the European ambitions of this Caucasian country.
With the arrest of several opposition party figures, Irakli Kobakhidzé also welcomed the fact that the Interior Ministry “successfully neutralized the protesters”.
Georgia has been going through a serious political crisis since the legislative elections of October 26, won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, but denounced as rigged by its opponents.
The decision of the government of Irakli Kobakhidze – accused of a pro-Russian authoritarian drift by its detractors – to suspend until 2028 the question of talks to join the EU has only aggravated tensions.
Every evening
Thousands of Georgians have since taken to the streets every evening for demonstrations, punctuated by violence between protesters, equipped with fireworks, and police armed with water cannons and tear gas.
The opposition accuses the government of trying to bury EU integration ambitions, although this objective, supported by 80% of the population according to polls, is enshrined in the Constitution.
She also accuses the authorities of wanting to turn the country towards Russia and trying to frighten the population by invoking a risk of war, as in Ukraine, while 20% of Georgia has been de facto under the control of Moscow for a year. Russian invasion in 2008.
The crowd was smaller on Friday than on previous nights, but protesters insist that their spontaneous movement without real figureheads or structure is far from running out of steam.
“We are fighting for our freedom,” said Nana, an 18-year-old medical student, wrapped in a Georgian flag. “We are not going to give in.”
Other protests took place in front of the headquarters of Georgian Public Radio – accused of serving as a government propaganda tool, the Ministry of Education and the offices of the tourism administration.
Shalva Alaverdashvili, founder of the country’s hotel federation, told AFP that the “unexpected and unacceptable” suspension of EU accession negotiations has serious consequences for the country’s tourism sector, which accounts for 7% of national GDP.
Thousands also gathered in Batumi, the country’s second city, on the Black Sea coast.
A Tbilisi court placed in pre-trial detention on Friday evening a young 19-year-old activist, Zviad Tsetskhladze, arrested during the demonstrations for “organizing, leading and participating in group violence”.
“Democracy in Georgia no longer exists. The rule of law has been crushed,” he told the judge.
“Our actions are a form of resistance aimed at preserving the rule of law, defending democracy and protecting the rights of every individual.”
“Neutralizes successfully”
This new mobilization comes as Mr. Kobakhidze claimed on Friday to have “won an important battle against liberal-fascism” in Georgia, a term he uses to describe his opponents.
The ruling party “no longer has the power or the resources to face the people,” the leader of the opposition Lelo party, Mamouka Khazaradze, told AFP on Friday.
On December 14, a college of electors must elect the new president of the country, from the Prime Minister’s camp, to replace the pro-Western and very critical of the government Salomé Zourabichvili from December 29.
If the head of state has limited prerogatives, Ms. Zourabichvili, a former French diplomat, has nevertheless established herself as the voice of the demonstrators within the institutions.
She announced that she refused to leave office until the government had organized new legislative elections.
Outcha, a 42-year-old doctor who has been demonstrating for a week, is not worried in this context about the drop in mobilization in recent days.
“Of course we are all a little tired,” he told AFP, preferring not to give his last name for fear of reprisals.
“We need a little rest and then we’ll go back,” he continues.
Leaders incarcerated
Some 300 people have been arrested since the start of the movement, according to official figures. The Georgian human rights ombudsman, Levan Iosseliani, for his part accused the police of “torture”.
The leader of the opposition Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia, was notably beaten during his arrest in front of television cameras.
On Friday, he was sentenced to 12 days in prison.
The leader of the opposition group Strong Georgia, Alexander Elisashvili, was placed in pre-trial detention for two months.
The United States and the European Union denounced this repression, and Washington threatened to adopt new sanctions.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland “strongly” condemned Friday evening “the disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators” in Georgia and denounced “the targeting of the opposition and representatives of the media.
