Protests in Tbilisi Photo: Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE / AFP / Profimedia
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobahidze said on Saturday that the state will not allow a revolution, following the anti-government protests that followed the suspension of Georgia’s accession process to the European Union, reports Reuters.
Kobahidze’s party, Georgian Dream, announced on Thursday that it would stop EU accession negotiations for the next four years, claiming that Georgia had been “blackmailed” out of the Union.
The decision came despite the fact that the objective of accession is included in the Constitution and the broad support of the population for this purpose. The suspension of negotiations caused widespread discontent in the country.
The prime minister accused opponents of this decision of planning a revolution, modeled after the Euromaidan protest in Ukraine in 2014, which ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. “In Georgia, the Maidan scenario cannot be realized. Geotgia is a state and the state, of course, will not allow this,” said Kobahidze.
The Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that 107 people were arrested in the capital Tbilisi during Friday night’s demonstration, in which protesters erected barricades on Rustaveli Boulevard in the city center and threw firecrackers to the special forces who used cannons with water and tear gas them. Further protests are expected Saturday night.
Hundreds of employees from various ministries (Foreign Affairs, Justice, Defense, Education) and even from the central bank have signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze negotiations with the EU.
Hvicha Kvarathelia, a star of the national football team expressed his support for the protesters. “My country is suffering, my people are suffering. It is painful and emotional to see the images circulating, stop the violence and bullying! Georgia deserves Europe today more than ever!”, Kvarathelia wrote on Facebook.
The ruling Georgian Dream party won nearly 54 percent of the vote in the October election, which the opposition says was rigged.
This year, Georgian Dream pushed for laws targeting so-called “foreign agents” as well as LGBT rights, which critics say are Russian-inspired.
The party controlled by its founder, billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, says it still wants EU membership and that the passed laws are needed to protect traditional Georgian values.
Georgian Dream has also taken steps to restore relations with Russia. The two countries no longer have diplomatic relations after a brief war between them in 2008, but direct flights resumed in 2023, while Moscow lifted visa requirements for Georgian citizens earlier this year.
