The latest wave of protests began after the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze and the Georgian Dream party announced that new talks on EU membership will not begin until 2028.
The protests in Georgia are now in their third day and have been marred by several reports of clashes between protesters and police in several places in the country. Now Georgia is getting ready for another night of protests.
During Friday night, protesters tried to get past the riot fence to get to the parliament building in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Protesters are said to have been chased and beaten by police, AP reports.
Over 200 people are said to have been arrested in connection with the protests and around 70 police officers are said to have been injured, reports the Spanish news agency EFE.
The US State Department on Saturday condemned “the excessive use of violence” and called on both sides to peaceful protests. They also write that the government’s decision not to resume discussions about the EU is against the country’s constitution.
Big political rift in Georgia
In a televised speech, the country’s president Salomé Zourabichvili has previously called on the government to resume contacts with the EU. During Saturday, she announced that she will not resign when her mandate expires in December in protest against the government’s decision.
Zourabichvili tells AP that Georgia is becoming a “quasi-Russian” state and that the ruling Georgian Dream party controls the country’s most important institutions.
“We have seen what is happening in the country – a country where we no longer have any independent institutions, not the courts, not the central bank and of course not the parliament either. We have moved more and more quickly towards a quasi-Russian model,” Zourabichvili told AP.
Disputed election results
The government has been strongly criticized after the disputed election results on October 26, which have not been recognized by the opposition or the EU Parliament. Criticism that is now strengthened by the president’s actions.
At the same time, the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accuses the pro-EU opposition of planning a revolution. The state security service has also said that political parties are trying to “overthrow the government by force”, reports Reuters.
Following the disputed election results at the end of October, several large demonstrations have taken place in Georgia.