Georgia said Saturday that authorities arrested 107 people during a second day of protests sparked by the government’s decision to delay European Union membership negotiations.
The Black Sea country has been rocked by unrest since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October 26 parliamentary elections, which the pro-EU opposition called fraudulent.
The Interior Ministry said 107 people were arrested for “disobeying lawful police orders and petty hooliganism.”
“Throughout the night (…) demonstrators threw various objects, including stones, pyrotechnics, glass bottles and metal objects, at the police,” he said. added, adding that “10 employees of the Ministry of the Interior were injured.”
The ministry earlier said 32 police officers were injured and 43 protesters arrested on Thursday.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement on Thursday that Georgia will not seek to open accession negotiations with the European Union before 2028 sparked a furious opposition response and two days of protests.
He then accused the opposition and the EU ambassador to Georgia of distorting his remarks. He insisted that joining the bloc “by 2030” remains his “top priority”.
‘Resistance movement’
On Friday, AFP journalists saw riot police firing water cannons and tear gas at pro-EU protesters gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi, who were throwing eggs and fireworks.
Clashes later broke out between protesters and police, who intervened to clear the area in front of Parliament, beating demonstrators, some of whom threw objects.
The independent Pirveli television channel said one of its journalists was hospitalized and seriously injured.
Protests also took place in other cities in Georgia on Friday, independent TV channel Mtavari reported.
Pro-Western opposition parties are boycotting the new parliament, while President Salome Zurabishvili has sought to overturn the election results through the country’s Constitutional Court.
In a televised address to the nation on Friday evening, the pro-Western president – at odds with the ruling party – said: “The resistance movement has begun. …I stand in solidarity with him. We will remain united until Georgia achieves its goals: returning to the European path and securing new elections. »
“Brutal repression”
After the October vote, a group of leading election observers in Georgia said they had evidence of a complex, large-scale voter fraud scheme.
Brussels has called for an investigation into what it considers “serious irregularities” reported by election observers.
Georgian Dream MPs voted unanimously on Thursday for Kobakhidze to remain prime minister, even though the opposition boycotted parliament, facing a serious crisis of legitimacy.
“The police actions in Tbilisi constitute yet another punitive attack on the right to peaceful assembly,” said Amnesty International.
France, Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania were among the countries expressing concern.
The Council of Europe condemned what it called a “brutal repression,” calling on Georgia to remain “loyal to European values.”
In recent years, critics have accused Georgian Dream – in power for more than a decade – of pushing the country away from Europe and closer to Russia.
