Tbilisi, Georgia – November 30, 2024: A pro-European protester prepares to throw fireworks at police from behind a makeshift roadblock during an anti-government protest. Following last month’s controversial election, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party announced on November 28 that they would no longer pursue a European future by the end of 2028. People gathered in the streets at night and into the early hours, facing tear gas, water cannon and violent arrests.
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Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday night, setting up barricades, breaking windows and setting off fireworks outside parliament to protest against the government’s cancellation of EU accession talks.
Riot police fired water cannon and tear gas into the crowd.
The demonstrations were the largest since the increasingly anti-Western ruling party was re-elected last month in a vote that the pro-EU opposition said was rigged.
A small fire broke out in the parliament building, possibly caused by fireworks. Protesters burned an effigy of Georgia’s richest man and ruling party founder Bitzina Ivanishvili on the steps of parliament.
Georgian media reported other protests in cities and towns across the country.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the pro-EU opposition of plotting a revolution. The National Security Agency said the political parties were trying to “overthrow the government by force”.
The country has long been one of the most staunchly pro-Western states since the collapse of the Soviet Union but has recently been drawn closer to Moscow’s orbit, mired in crisis talks on Thursday after the ruling Georgian Dream party said it would block EU membership. . It accuses the EU of blackmailing Georgia.
EU membership is extremely popular in Georgia, which aims to join the European Union as enshrined in its constitution.
Protester Tina Kupreshvili stood outside the parliament building in the capital, with EU and Georgian flags flying side by side. She hoped that Georgia would abide by its constitutional commitment to join the EU.
“The people of Georgia are trying to protect their constitution, they are trying to protect their country and their state, and they are trying to tell our government that the rule of law means everything,” she told Reuters.
President says she won’t step down
President Salome Zurabicvili opposes the government and supports EU membership, but his powers are largely ceremonial. The right to name her successor.
The Georgian Dream party won nearly 54% of the vote in the October 26 election, defeating an opposition group that said the vote was rigged. Both the ruling party and the Georgia Elections Commission said the election was free and fair. Western countries have called for an investigation.
The ruling party campaigned on maintaining peace in the country and accused the opposition of trying to draw Georgia into a war with Russia on behalf of the West.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze has accused opponents of halting EU membership of plotting an insurgency similar to the 2014 Maidan protests that toppled a pro-Russian president.
“Some people want this to happen again in Georgia. But there will be no Independence Square in Georgia,” Kobakhidze said.
Georgian media reported that the country’s most senior diplomats to the United States, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania had resigned in protest at the suspension of EU negotiations.
More than 200 serving diplomats signed an open letter condemning the government’s stance. Hundreds of employees from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and the Central Bank of Georgia also signed an open letter condemning the decision to freeze EU accession negotiations.
Early on November 30, 2024, a demonstration was held near the parliament building in central Tbilisi to protest against the government’s decision to delay EU accession negotiations, and the police tried to disperse the protesters.
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The Interior Ministry said on Saturday that 107 people were detained in the capital Tbilisi during a protest on Friday night in which demonstrators set up barricades in the middle of Rustaveli Avenue and threw fireworks at riot police, who used Water cannons and tear gas were used to disperse them.
Videos of security forces violently arresting protesters were widely circulated on Saturday. Georgia’s state ombudsman said police “brutality” against protesters was “disturbing”. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed “deep concern”.
Major companies including London-listed bank TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia have expressed support for joining the EU. The country’s powerful Orthodox Church issued a statement condemning violence at the protests.
Football stars speak out
The EU said it deeply regretted the government’s actions. The U.S. State Department said on Saturday it would suspend its strategic partnership with Georgia in response.
Georgia national football team star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who plays for Italian Serie A side Napoli, publicly supported the protesters.
“My country is hurt, my people are hurt – it is painful and emotional to watch the videos that are circulating, stop the violence and aggression! Georgia deserves Europe today more than ever!” Kvaratshli, Saturday Ya wrote on Facebook.
The suspension of EU membership ends months of deteriorating relations between Georgian Dream and the West.
The EU has said Georgia’s application is being held up by laws requiring groups that receive foreign funding to register as foreign agents, as well as laws on LGBTQ+ rights that the EU says are too harsh.
Georgia and Russia have not had diplomatic ties since a brief war in 2008 over a Moscow-backed rebel region but resumed direct flights in 2023, while Moscow lifted visa restrictions on Georgian nationals earlier this year.
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