Pro-EU protests in Georgia escalate: As it happened
Pro-EU protests continued on Sunday in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, where activists clashed with riot police outside the former Soviet country’s parliament building.
The demonstrations are backed by a coalition of opposition parties, as well as Georgia’s pro-EU president, Salome Zourabichvili, who called the current government “illegitimate.” She previously claimed that the parliamentary election in October was rigged in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The protesters are outraged by the government’s decision to freeze negotiations on joining the EU until 2028.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakzhidze said Georgia should ultimately become a member state, but do so on fair terms. He accused the EU of using the accession talks to “blackmail” Georgia and meddle in its politics.
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02 December 2024
04:43 GMTRustaveli Avenue, where protests have been taking place for four nights, has been cleared of demonstrators, according to Georgia’s Rustavi-2 TV channel.
Riot police had urged the remaining protesters to vacate the area before a task force arrived at Republic Square.
Most participants relocated to the vicinity of the Rustaveli metro station, with police following them. Several people were detained, although the total number of arrests remains unclear.
- 03:20 GMT
Riot police that dispersed participants of an opposition rally in central Tbilisi have reportedly surrounded the remaining protesters in the city center.
Police formed a perimeter from multiple directions near the Rustaveli metro station, holding shields.
- 03:06 GMT
Police have pushed opposition rally participants out of Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, where they had been staying since Sunday, according to local media reports.
On Monday morning, the rally participants were pushed away from the parliament building further down Rustaveli Avenue, which they partially occupied, with riot police using tear gas to disperse them.
- 02:46 GMT
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will impose sanctions on the authorities of Georgia amid the suspension of its EU integration and ongoing protests in the country, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has said.
The three Baltic States jointly agreed to impose national sanctions against those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia. Opponents of democracy and violators of human rights are not welcome in our countries. 🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹🇬🇪
— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) December 1, 2024 - 01:48 GMT
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has condemned foreign governments for pressuring its diplomats abroad and calling for sabotage.
“Attempts by foreign states to interfere in the functioning of the institutions of a sovereign state are unacceptable,” the ministry stated.
It reaffirmed Georgia’s commitment to EU integration, highlighting its consistent fulfillment of obligations under the EU Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement.
“The government of Georgia remains steadfast in its irreversible process of European integration based on the Association Agreement, ensuring better preparedness for swift EU accession negotiations,” the statement said.
It clarified that claims of suspended negotiations with the EU are false.
The announcement comes amid ongoing protests in Tbilisi that have led to the resignation of Georgian ambassadors to Bulgaria, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States, as well as the acting ambassador to Italy.
- 01:21 GMT
Over 100 police officers have been injured during recent protests in Tbilisi, according to the Interior Ministry.
A video circulating on social media shows a child wearing a helmet and throwing a bottle at police amidst the unrest.
❕ A video of a child throwing a bottle at police near the parliament in Tbilisi is circulating on social media.Then the boy turns to the camera. It is not reported who filmed the footage and who brought the child to such a street action.Georgian police have already called on… pic.twitter.com/i5cBMTPvQ6
— ☦️Jacob🇷🇺Charite☦️ Иагов (@jaccocharite) December 1, 2024Protesters in Tbilisi have been employing pyrotechnics against law enforcement, launching smoke bombs and stones at them during the riots.
01 December 2024
23:18 GMTMany people remain on the streets, continuing to launch projectiles at the officers, who are responding with firing volleys of tear gas.
According to news website Civil Georgia, the protesters are refusing to leave and are returning to Rustaveli Avenue after being dispersed.
Police again use excessive amounts of tear gas to disperse protesters. Many protesters remain in the Rustaveli Avenue area, dispersing and then periodically returning to the scene.📹 @GuramMuradov /Civil.ge pic.twitter.com/SAcCZdsOS8
— Civil.ge (@CivilGe) December 1, 2024- 22:57 GMT
Georgia’s French-born pro-EU president, Salome Zourabichvili, released a new message in support of the demonstration. She accused the government of “provocations directed against this protest.”
Zourabichvili repeated her claim that the October parliamentary election was rigged in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and accused the police of disproportionate use of force.
- 22:29 GMT
The protesters have engaged in “systematic violence,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said. “Which means that these gatherings are not peaceful.”
According to Kobakhidze, “violent gangs” have repeatedly tried to break into the parliament building.
