Pro-Western activists planning transport blockades in Georgia – minister

Pro-EU demonstrators plan to blockade roads and railway stations in Georgia, the authorities in Tbilisi have warned, as protesters laid siege to the parliament building.

Thousands of demonstrators bearing EU and Georgian flags gathered in Tbilisi again on Friday, protesting the government’s decision to extend its planned integration with the bloc and demanding new elections.

“Participants in the anti-government rally in Tbilisi are discussing the possibility of blocking strategic facilities, including railway stations and major highways, on social networks,” Deputy Police Minister Alexandre Darakhvelidze has told reporters.

Over 30 police officers were injured in clashes on Thursday, including one who was hospitalized, the authorities said.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday that Georgia would suspend accession talks with the EU until 2028. While his government did not renounce the ultimate goal of joining the EU, Georgia should not bow to “constant blackmail and manipulation,” he said.

His move came after the EU denounced last month’s parliamentary elections, won by Kobakhidze’s Georgian Dream party, which the opposition claimed had been rigged.

President Salome Zourabichvili has denounced the government’s actions as “an unconstitutional coup” and called on the protesters to “resist.”