Keystone-SDA
Thousands of pro-EU demonstrators marched towards the Georgian Parliament on Saturday in Tbilisi, kicking off a 10th night of protests against the government, accused of having abandoned the country’s European ambitions and rigged the recent legislative elections.
This content was published on
December 7, 2024 – 5:15 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) This former Soviet republic in the Caucasus has been in turmoil since these elections, won by the ruling Georgian Dream party but contested by the pro-Western opposition. Street protests broke out last week after the government’s decision to postpone efforts to join the European Union until 2028.
During nine nights of protests, punctuated by violence, demonstrators gathered in and around Parliament in the face of police, who dispersed most of the gatherings by force.
In a change of tactics, thousands of people began protesting on Saturday afternoon outside a Tbilisi university, before marching towards Parliament with loud horns and whistles, blocking one of the city’s main thoroughfares. , noted AFP journalists.
“The government is trying to stop us, to punish us, but we are not backing down, we are not afraid,” says Guiorgui Romanadze, 19 years old. “This is our last chance to be free, to be happy. We want Europe and only Europe.”
“No rights”
Natia Trapaidzé, a 55-year-old stylist, says that until then she was not a politically engaged person, but that the brutal response from the authorities “forced” her to take to the streets.
“I don’t feel protected, I have no rights in this country,” she explains, adding that she is worried about the future of her two daughters.
During the previous gathering, on the night of Friday to Saturday, “the police arrested 48 people for disobedience to legitimate police orders and vandalism,” said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
The police dispersed the crowd after “the actions of certain participants in the demonstration took on a violent character”, with protesters insulting police officers and throwing stones at them, according to the same source.
The Georgian human rights commissioner, Levan Ioseliani, for his part, once again considered that the police had “no legal basis to disperse a peaceful demonstration”.
AFP journalists saw riot police once again use water cannons and tear gas during the night as demonstrators retreated a few meters from the Parliament building. The crowd on Friday evening was smaller than during the rallies of previous days.
Arrests of opponents
The government, accused of pro-Russian authoritarian drift by its detractors, has adopted an increasingly firm stance towards the movement in recent days. Several opposition figures were arrested and their party offices were raided by police, who say they seized fireworks and Molotov cocktails.
The leader of the opposition Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia, was notably beaten during his arrest in front of television cameras. He was then sentenced to 12 days in prison.
The leader of the Strong Georgia opposition group, Alexander Elisachvili, was placed in pre-trial detention for two months.
Several people were also arrested, accused of having “organized the violence” during demonstrations in Tbilisi, where protesters fired fireworks at the police.
On Friday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was pleased to see the Interior Ministry “successfully neutralize the protesters”. He claimed 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.
According to the authorities, a total of 341 demonstrators have been arrested since the start of the movement. Nearly 150 police officers were injured.
The United States and the European Union, which Mr. Kobakhidze accuses of “blackmail,” denounced this repression, and Washington threatened to adopt new sanctions.
