TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators in the Georgian capital converged on parliament again on Tuesday, venting outrage against the governing party's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.
Like on five previous nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to push back the protesters, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital's central boulevard. Nearly 300 protesters have been detained, and 26 people, including three police officers, have been hospitalized with injuries.
“The more force they use, the angrier people become, because everyone they arrest has relatives, and everyone understands that this is injustice,” said Tamar Kordzaia, a member of Unity National Movement opposition group.
Kordzaia voiced confidence that the protesters will achieve their goal of calling new elections and joining the EU, noting that police on Monday “looked very tired. I am sure we need to withstand a little longer.”
The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in the disputed Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations. The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighboring Russia's help and boycotted parliament sessions.
Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party's decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold.
“We are fighting for our democracy, to protect human rights, human dignity,” said Rusudan Chanturia, who attended Tuesday's protest.
Another demonstrator, David Jandieri, said the daily protests must continue until the demonstrators achieve their goal. “In fact, we do not have another choice," he said.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 293 protesters were detained on administrative charges and five arrested on criminal charges.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has refused to recognize the official election results and contested them in the Constitutional Court, which rejected her appeal on Tuesday. Zourabichvili, who plays a largely ceremonial role, has declared that she would stay on the job even after her six-year term ends later this month to lead the opposition demand for a new parliamentary election.
The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms. It requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
The Georgian government’s announcement of the EU accession talks’ suspension came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing October’s election as neither free nor fair.
On Monday, the EU reiterated its “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country."
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream declared Tuesday that the government is willing to open EU accession talks if the bloc ends its “blackmail.”
“I want to remind European bureaucrats and politicians, including those who are artificially hindering our country’s European integration, to bring negotiations to the table, and we will sign immediately, on the same day, at that very moment,” he said.