Georgians demonstrate in the capital Tbilisi in favor of joining the EU. Photo credit: Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE / AFP / Profimedia
Thousands of demonstrators returned to the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on Saturday night for a third straight night of protests against the government, which the opposition accuses of deviating from the former Soviet republic’s ambitions in the Caucasus to join the government. EU, the agencies inform AFP, Reuters and Agerpres.
Clashes between pro-EU protesters and police
In front of the parliament, in Tbilisi, clashes broke out between the police and pro-European demonstrators who protested, for the third consecutive evening, against the government’s decision to postpone the country’s EU accession talks to 2028, reports AFP.
Masked police in riot gear fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons to disperse protesters who set off fireworks, according to an AFP reporter who saw flames behind a window of the building .
🇬🇪✊💥 Tbilisi – Protesters are dispersed from Rustaveli Avenue. Police again used tear gas against people. The fireworks continue to fly.
🎦 Fedor Khudokormov for Paper Kartuli 1/ pic.twitter.com/j00mRHaiAC
– LX (@LXSummer1) November 30, 2024
❗️❗️❗️Tbilisi has become a battlefield with clashes erupting in many places. The police, who emerged from Liberty Square, are facing significant resistance from citizens, who use fireworks, stones and physical confrontations.#Georgia #protests #Tbilisi #encounters pic.twitter.com/Os5xuZRilu
– The Popsicle Protector (@PopsicleProtect) November 30, 2024
❗️Citizens seek shelter in one of the buildings.#Georgia #protests #Tbilisi #Citizens pic.twitter.com/0QFDAdKvqt
– The Popsicle Protector (@PopsicleProtect) November 30, 2024
The streets in the center of the capital, near the parliament building, were full of protesters on Saturday night, many of them waving EU and Georgian flags.
Demonstrations on Thursday and Friday in Tbilisi and other cities were violently dispersed by the police, who announced that they were arrested for “disobedience and vandalism” almost 150 people and that at least 42 policemen were injured.
#Tbilisi Now: Barricades have been erected to block riot police and special forces from coming from Liberty Square pic.twitter.com/aA4Lz9d0eQ
– Katie Shoshiashvili (@KShoshiashvili) November 30, 2024
The Caucasus country has been gripped by tensions since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in elections at the end of October, which the opposition and President Salome Zurabişvili say were rigged by fraud
Go Georgia Maidan!!!
Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦 💙💛#Ukraine will win #RussiaIsATerroristState #FreeTheTaurus #GuttersOut #FreeGeorgia#GeorgiaStrong #Sakartwello #Georgia pic.twitter.com/OdGOGHLLOl
— Scout Fella 🇺🇦 (@ScottASorel) November 30, 2024
“Parliament is illegitimate”
On Saturday, President Zurabishvili declared in a briefing that the parliament is illegitimate after the elections and assured that she does not intend to resign before the end of her mandate at the end of this year, emphasizing that the only legitimate institution in the country remains the presidency.
For his part, Prime Minister Irakli Kobahidze declared on Saturday that the state will not allow a revolution.
“The scenario of Maidan cannot be realized in Georgia. Georgia is a state, and the state, of course, will not allow this,” the prime minister was quoted by the Georgian media.
