Protesters gather for third night of demonstrations after Georgia announces suspension of EU talks

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police as police block a street to prevent protesters rallying against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years. Credit: AP

Protesters gathered across Georgia on Saturday night to demonstrate for the third night straight against the government’s decision to suspend EU membership negotiations.

More than 100 demonstrators were arrested as crowds clashed with police Friday night, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

Protesters in Tbilisi were chased and beaten by police, as demonstrators rallied in front of the country’s parliament building.

On the same night, police also used heavy force against members of the media and deployed water cannons to push protesters back along the capital’s central boulevard, Rustaveli Avenue.

The ruling Georgian Dream party's disputed victory in the country’s recent parliamentary election has sparked major demonstrations, and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament.

October's election was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union. The opposition has said that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said that Georgia was becoming a “quasi-Russian” state and that Georgian Dream controlled the country's major institutions.

A protester waves an European Union flag during a rally outside the Georgian parliament. Credit: AP

She said: “We have seen happening in the country - which is a country where we do not have any longer independent institutions, not the courts, not the Central Bank, and not, of course, the parliament.

“We have been moving more and more rapidly into a quasi-Russian model.”

European election observers said October’s vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

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Zourabichvili also rejected statements made by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who characterised the protests as “violent demonstrations".

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze hit back, and said: “The ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

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