Georgia has seen a fourth night of street demonstrations and a string of public resignations, triggered by the ruling party’s decision to suspend a push to start talks on joining the European Union.
As tens of thousands of Georgians headed back to the streets of several cities, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said they had fallen victim to opposition lies and he rejected calls for new elections.
He confirmed reports that Georgia’s ambassador to the US, David Zalkaliani, had become the latest senior diplomat to stand down, explaining that he had come under considerable pressure.
But Kobakhidze sought to deny the reason for the protests, saying on Sunday that “we have not suspended anything, it’s a lie”.
Only three days before, his party Georgian Dream had accused the EU of using talks on joining the union as “blackmail” and said the government had decided not to put that issue on the agenda until the end of 2028.
Pro-EU protesters were out in big numbers again on Sunday night, and when fireworks were aimed at the parliament building as well as riot police, the police responded with water cannon.
Large groups of riot police huddled in side streets beside parliament, and it was not until early on Monday that the protests on the main Rustaveli avenue were dispersed.
As demonstrators fled the area, a number of people were detained, including Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of opposition alliance Coalition for Change.
Georgia’s interior ministry said later that 21 officers were injured in clashes overnight, while the pro-opposition president, Salome Zourabichvili, said arrested protesters had been subjected to beatings and cited lawyers who said the majority of them had sustained serious injuries.
Credit: bbc.com
