Police in Georgia used water cannons and tear gas in the capital, Tbilisi, to disperse protesters demonstrating against the government’s decision to suspend talks on the country’s accession to the European Union. Several arrests were also made, according to Russian news agencies.
For several days, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in this nation of 3.7 million people, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream party of pursuing increasingly authoritarian, anti-Western, and pro-Russian policies.
In the early hours of today, police ended a prolonged standoff by removing protesters from the area around the parliament building and pushing them onto Rustaveli Avenue near Tbilisi’s Opera House. Authorities began erecting barricades using whatever materials were available.
Amid clashes with police, protesters were forced to leave the avenue. Some launched fireworks at officers, who responded with water cannons and tear gas, according to Russian news outlets.
The crisis, already escalating for months, intensified after Thursday’s announcement that the government would freeze EU talks for four years. Pro-EU demonstrators clashed with police following the decision.
It is not yet clear how many protesters were arrested early this morning, although Russian news agency Interfax reported that only a small group remained near a metro station.
According to the same source, citing Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, 113 police officers have been injured over the past few days during the demonstrations in Tbilisi.
Yesterday, Sunday, four opposition organisations called on protesters to take paid leave from work to join the demonstrations, as permitted under labour laws. They also urged employers to allow their employees to attend.
Pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has called for pressure on the Constitutional Court to annul last month’s parliamentary elections, which were won by Georgian Dream. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili claim the elections were fraudulent.
Also read: Cyprus signs joint UN statement on Russian invasion of Ukraine
Photo source: Al Jazeera
Source: ANA-MPA
