After the Prime Minister Georgia Irakli Kobachidze reported that until 2028, the country suspends talks with the European Union on membership in this organizationthe city streets were in turmoil again. Supporters of the pro-Western course, including the President of Georgia Salome Zourabishvili, do not agree with the head of government's decision.
Thursday protests However, the protests against the Prime Minister's move are not taking place in a calm atmosphere. There are more and more reports of clashes between protesters and the police.
Protests in Georgia after the prime minister's decision. The president joined in
Georgian media reported that v Tbilisithe country's capital, the uniformed officers used pepper spray against the gathered people and also threw smoke grenades at them. It was in the capital that Salome Zurabishvili joined the protesters. The President of Georgia has already expressed her position on the Prime Minister's decision and strongly condemned it, now she sided with the citizens.
– Do you serve Georgia or Russia? – Zurabishvili asked security officers. In turn, social media is flooded with videos of the protests. On one of the streets in Tbilisi, you can see crowds of citizens holding flags of Georgia and the European Union. Smoke grenades are probably flying over their heads, and lasers can also be seen.
They also appeared first information about the arrests of protestersas can be seen in one of the recordings online. The Georgian Association of Young Lawyers appealed to law enforcement officers to refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters. As it was added, “their protests are justified.”
There is a constant increase in police presence on the streets of Georgian citiesand the local Ministry of Interior said that the protest near the parliament “exceeded the norms established in the Act on Assemblies and Demonstrations.” The ministry also claims that some of the demonstration participants insulted officers or threw various objects at them.
Georgians also took to the streets of other cities, including: in Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi.
Georgia. Crowds in the streets condemn the suspension of talks on EU membership
The decision of the Georgian Prime Minister to suspend talks with European Union about joining the organization outraged not only the opposition. The country's president said online that “44 officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia condemned today's anti-European statement” head of government.
“Georgia, Romania. Will this be enough for Western leaders to decipher Russia's strategy against Europe? “Military war in Ukraine, 'election war' in Tbilisi and Bucharest,” Salome Zurabishvili emphasized in her next entry. The president, present at the protest in Tbilisi, also addressed European partners, pointing out that It's time for them to speak up on this matter too.
“Let's not give Russia a 'free ride'! Georgians defend the European future and they will continue to do so until the elections are repeated in a free and fair environment,” the president emphasized.
Earlier, the Prime Minister's decision was condemned by, among others, one of the leaders of the Georgian opposition, Giorgi Vashadze, who emphasized in a post on social media that “the self-proclaimed, illegal government is already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian nation“.