<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/01/dozens-hospitalised-in-third-night-of-pro-eu-protests-in-georgia>
"Protesters rallied in Georgia’s capital for a fourth consecutive night on
Sunday and there were signs that opposition was spreading to the government’s
decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.
For months, tensions have been rising between the ruling Georgian Dream party
and opponents who accuse it of pursuing increasingly authoritarian,
anti-western and pro-Russian policies.
The crisis has deepened since Thursday’s announcement that the government would
freeze EU talks for four years, when thousands of pro-EU demonstrators faced
off against police armed with teargas and water cannon.
Georgia’s pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, called for pressure to
be brought on the constitutional court to annul October’s elections won by
Georgian Dream. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll was rigged.
Protesters gathered again in Tbilisi on Sunday night on the central Rustaveli
Avenue. Beyond the capital, demonstrators blocked an access road into the
country’s main commercial port in the Black Sea city of Poti, the Georgian news
agency
Interpress said.
Georgian media reported protests in at least eight cities and towns. The
opposition TV channel
Formula showed footage of people in Khashuri, a town of
20,000 in central Georgia, throwing eggs at the local Georgian Dream office and
tearing down the party’s flag.
The interior minister said on Sunday that 44 people had been taken to hospital
after Saturday’s protests, including 27 protesters, 16 police officers and one
media worker.
An effigy of the founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy
billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, was burned in front of the
legislature.
The prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, said at a briefing: “Any violation of
the law will be met with the full rigour of the law. Neither will those
politicians who hide in their offices and sacrifice members of their violent
groups to severe punishment escape responsibility.”
He said it was not true that Georgia’s European integration had been halted.
“The only thing we have rejected is the shameful and offensive blackmail, which
was in fact a significant obstacle to our country’s European integration,” he
said.
The government’s announcement came hours after the European parliament adopted
a resolution saying the general election in Georgia was not free or fair."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
