Violent protests break out in Georgia
Protests erupt in Georgia after the leader of the pro-Putin Dream Party halted talks to join the EU over claims of foreign interference in the country. (Credit: AP)
More than forty people in the former Soviet country of Georgia have been hospitalized after a brutal police crackdown on protesters. supported by pro-Russia Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital Tbilisi for a fourth night on Sunday after Kobakhidze’s ruling party, known as the Dream Party, suspended the country’s 15-year clampdown. to join the European Union (EU) last week.
“Any violation of the law will be met with the full severity of the law,” Kobakhidze said at a weekend briefing. “The politicians who hide in their offices and sacrifice members of their violent groups to severe punishment will not escape responsibility.”
Police use a water cannon to stop protesters during a demonstration against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union for four years, outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Sunday, December 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Georgian PM praises crackdown on country’s protest despite US condemnation
About 44 people, including 27 protesters, 16 police officers and a member of the media, were hospitalized on Sunday, according to Georgia’s Interior Ministry, after police clashed with civilians and used water cannon and tear gas as angry demonstrators shot off fireworks . .
Kobakhidze stressed in his remarks that Georgia’s integration process has not been halted, saying: “The only thing we have rejected is the shameful and insulting blackmail, which in fact posed a significant obstacle to the European integration of our country.”
The government’s decision to halt EU integration came just hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday condemned the general elections in Georgia last month as neither free nor fair.
Kobakhidze, a billionaire who made his wealth in Russia and who supports it Russian President Vladimir Putinhas faced backlash abroad and at home over claims that the general election was rigged.
Georgia, which left the Soviet Union in 1991, has relied on Western support for decades in an attempt to escape Moscow’s influence over the country – which suffered a Russian invasion in 2008.
Protesters use fireworks against police as police block a street to prevent demonstrators from opposing the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union for four years, outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday November 30, 2024. ((AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Protesters storm Putin-backed PARLIAMENT IN GEORGIA SECEDED REGION
However, under the Dream Party, Georgia has increasingly implemented authoritarian and blanket policies The unrest in the country has increased.
That’s what the government has claimed recent policy changes are a step to protect the country from foreign interference and prevent it from being drawn into a war like the one in Ukraine. Critics of the Georgian government, however, point to recent trends in Tbilisi that could be interpreted as attempts to back down from Putin-backed policies.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning the Georgian government’s decision to suspend accession negotiations with the EU and reiterating “serious concerns about the country’s continued democratic decline”.
“We note that this announcement marks a shift from the policies of all previous Georgian governments and the European aspirations of the vast majority of the Georgian people, as enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia,” the statement said.
The EU officials called on Georgian authorities to “respect the rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and not to use force against peaceful demonstrators, politicians and media representatives.”
A demonstrator waves the European Union flag during a rally outside parliament to protest the government’s decision to suspend negotiations on accession to the European Union for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday, November 30, 2024 . (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
The US similarly condemned the violence against protesters and argued that the move to suspend Georgia’s accession to the EU “contradicts the promise to the Georgian people, enshrined in their Constitution, to full integration into the European Union and NATO.”
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“By suspending Georgia’s EU accession process, Georgian Dream has rejected the possibility of closer ties with Europe and made Georgia more vulnerable to the Kremlin,” the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Kobakhidze rejected the Biden administration’s comments, saying: “You can see that the outgoing administration is trying to leave the new administration with as difficult a legacy as possible. They are doing this with regard to Ukraine, and now also with regard to Georgia.”
“This will have no fundamental meaning. We will wait for the new government and discuss everything with them,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
