{"id":427086,"date":"2024-12-01T18:22:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T18:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=427086"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Clashes-erupt-outside-Georgia-parliament-between-pro-EU-protesters-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Clashes-erupt-outside-Georgia-parliament-between-pro-EU-protesters-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Clashes erupt outside Georgia parliament between pro-EU protesters, police"},"content":{"rendered":"

Violent clashes erupted on Saturday outside Georgia’s parliament between police and demonstrators protesting the government’s decision to delay European Union membership talks amid a post-election crisis, AFP reporters witnessed.<\/p>\n

Thousands of people gathered in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Saturday for a third night of protests that saw dozens arrested.<\/p>\n

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in an October 26 parliamentary election that the pro-European opposition said was fraudulent.<\/p>\n

Chaotic scenes unfolded for hours as police chased defiant protesters through the streets of central Tbilisi, beating them and making arrests.<\/p>\n

Masked officers in riot gear fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons as they moved in to disperse protesters hurling fireworks, while flames were seen coming from a window of the parliament building.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators erected barricades on Tbilisi’s main avenue.<\/p>\n

“I am afraid — I won’t hide it — that many people will get injured, but I am not afraid to stand here,” 39-year-old Tamar Gelashvili told AFP near the parliament building earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Protests were also held in numerous cities across Georgia.<\/p>\n

The interior ministry said “the actions of some individuals present at the protest became violent” and that police would “respond appropriately and in accordance with the law to every violation”.<\/p>\n

More than 100 people have been arrested in the last two days.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement on Thursday that Georgia would not seek accession talks with the EU until 2028 ignited a furious reaction from the opposition.<\/p>\n

Critics accuse Georgian Dream — in power for more than a decade — of having steered the country away from the EU in recent years and of moving closer to Russia, an accusation it denies.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of public servants, including from the ministries of foreign affairs, defence and education, as well as a number of judges, issued joint statements protesting Kobakhidze’s decision.<\/p>\n

Some 160 Georgian diplomats criticised the move as contradicting the constitution and leading the country “into international isolation”.<\/p>\n

A number of Georgia’s ambassadors resigned in protest.<\/p>\n

– ‘Stable transition’ –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

On Friday, AFP reporters saw riot police fire water cannon and tear gas at pro-EU protesters gathered outside parliament who tossed eggs and fireworks.<\/p>\n

Clashes broke out later between protesters and police, who moved in to clear the area, beating demonstrators — some of whom threw objects — and journalists, deliberately targeting those clearly identified as members of the media.<\/p>\n

Georgia’s special investigation service said it had opened a probe into “allegations of abuse of official authority through violence by law enforcement officers against protesters and media representatives”.<\/p>\n

More than 100 schools and universities suspended academic activities in protest.<\/p>\n

Pro-Western opposition parties are boycotting the new parliament, while President Salome Zurabishvili — who is at loggerheads with Georgian Dream — has sought to annul the election results through the country’s constitutional court.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview to AFP on Saturday, Zurabishvili said that she will not step down until last month’s contested parliamentary elections are re-run.<\/p>\n

The Paris-born former French diplomat said that on Saturday she had set up a “national council” consisting of opposition parties and civil society representatives, which will ensure “stability in this country”.<\/p>\n

“I will be the representative of this legitimate, stable transition.”<\/p>\n

– US suspends ‘strategic partnership’ –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

After the October vote, a group of Georgia’s leading election monitors said they had evidence of a complex scheme of large-scale electoral fraud.<\/p>\n

Brussels has demanded an investigation into what it said were “serious” irregularities reported by election monitors.<\/p>\n

Georgian Dream MPs voted unanimously on Thursday for Kobakhidze to continue as prime minister, even as the opposition boycotted parliament, deepening a serious legitimacy crisis at the legislature and the government.<\/p>\n

The crackdown on protests has provoked international condemnation.<\/p>\n

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We condemn excessive force used against Georgians exercising their freedom to protest and have suspended our Strategic Partnership with Georgia.”<\/p>\n

“Georgian Dream’s decision to suspend EU accession is a betrayal of the Georgian constitution.”<\/p>\n

France, Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania were among the countries to voice concern.<\/p>\n

The human rights office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said: “The action of law enforcement officials while policing peaceful protests in Georgia is of deep concern and a serious breach of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”<\/p>\n

im\/bc\/tym<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling party declared victory in October elections<\/p>\n

-Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Protests have also become a place to socialise, one demonstrator told AFP<\/p>\n

-Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

European nations and rights groups have expressed concern over the situation<\/p>\n

-Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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