Thousands of people have converged on Georgia’s parliament again to protest against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.
Demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building in the capital, Tbilisi, for a sixth consecutive night on Tuesday as police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds and protesters tossed fireworks at police.
“The more force they use, the angrier people become because everyone they arrest has relatives and everyone understands that this is injustice,” Tamar Kordzaia, a member of the Unity National Movement opposition group, told The Associated Press news agency.
Dozens of people have been injured in the rallies, which began on Thursday, with riot police using water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters who have thrown fireworks and constructed barricades in the city centre.
The Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs said 26 people – 23 protesters and three law enforcement officers – have been injured in the clashes.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused opposition groups of having “orchestrated violence”.
“Opposition politicians who have orchestrated the violence in recent days while hiding in their offices will not escape responsibility,” Kobakhidze said at a news conference. He added that NGOs would also “not evade responsibility”.
The same day, Georgia’s top court dismissed a bid by the pro-Western president to overturn the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections. According to official results, Georgian Dream won with almost 54 percent of the vote, but the opposition says the elections were tainted by fraud.
Protesters accuse the ruling party of trying to bring Tbilisi back into Moscow’s orbit and are infuriated by Kobakhidze’s announcement last week that the government would shelve talks on EU membership until 2028.
Crisis deepens
NATO chief Mark Rutte slammed the situation in Georgia. “The reports of violence are deeply concerning, and I condemn them unequivocally,” he said at a news conference.
The members of the Western military alliance “urge the Georgian government to stay on the path” towards “more EU and NATO integration”, he added.
The South Caucasus country has seen several waves of mass protests this year against Georgian Dream, which has been in power for more than a decade.
The political crisis has deepened since October’s elections with the opposition and pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili accusing the ruling party of rigging the elections. Several Western countries have also questioned the results.
However, Georgia’s top court on Tuesday threw out an attempt by Zurabishvili and opposition groups to overturn them.
“The Constitutional Court of Georgia did not accept the lawsuits of the president and political parties regarding the recognition of the October 26 elections as unconstitutional,” it said in a statement.
Kobakhidze has insisted he will not hold talks with the opposition and, in comments that resemble Russian narratives, has accused it of trying to stage a Ukraine-style pro-EU uprising funded from abroad.
