The Georgian president has called on the EU to “not let Russia have a free ride” as police used water cannons and tear gas on demonstrators protesting the government’s decision to postpone membership talks with Brussels until 2028.
The decision, announced on Thursday afternoon, has added to the volatility in Georgia, already high following general elections on October 26.
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The incumbent Georgian Dream party won another term in office, but there have been widespread allegations of fraud and undue Russian influence, and Salome Zourabichvili, the Georgian president, has refused to recognize it.
The government has accused the EU of using funding as “blackmail” and “trying to organize a revolution in the country.”
Thousands of Georgians, including Zourabichvili, took to the streets in the capital, Tbilisi, in a mass display of anger over a decision that the protesters believe will move Georgia away from Europe and its aspirations to join the EU and cement it in Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Police turned water cannons and tear gas on the people, while officers were also filmed attacking some of the protesters. There are also claims that the media, in particular, were targeted by the security forces.
“It’s time for our EU partners to speak out!” Zourabichvili wrote on the X platform. “Do not let Russia have a free ride! Georgian people are defending European future and will do so until replay of the elections in a free and fair environment!”
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Rounding on the alleged violent behavior of the police, she also wrote: “No safe haven in Georgia: churchyard or pharmacy, robicops chase the participants everywhere to beat and arrest them… Russian government, Russian methods (sic).”
As a further indication of the deepening political crisis in Georgia, Zourabichvili also accused the government of “declaring war” on the Georgian people.
“Today this non-existent and illegitimate government declared not peace but war on its own people, its own past and its own future,” she said in a speech broadcast on Thursday night.
She also called for “no compromise, no surrender, resistance.”
There will be more protests scheduled for Friday night.
This report by Matthew Day is reprinted with permission from TVP World. See the original here.
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