Georgians Protest in Tbilisi Against Suspension of EU Talks by Ruling Party

(AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Thousands of people took to the streets in Tbilisi to protest the suspension of EU accession talks. The protests turned violent as police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, while journalists covering the event were also targeted, The Caspian Post reports citing Euronews.

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of the Georgian capital to demonstrate against the governing party’s decision to suspend EU accession talks for four years.  

The rally took place outside the parliament building in Tbilisi and was met with considerable force.  

Georgian police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters and quell the unrest.  

Riot police units were also deployed to break up the rallies. Protesters say many of their peers were beaten with batons. 

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Increased violence against journalists

A separate demonstration was also organised to decry violence against journalists covering the rallies.  

On Sunday, several hundred media workers marched down Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue holding posters containing pictures of their colleagues they say had been assaulted while doing their jobs. 

“Our colleagues are beaten, injured, some remain in hospital in serious condition,” says Ekaterine Mishveladze, anchor at independent Georgian broadcaster TV Pirveli. 

Demonstrators help a journalist who was injured by tear gas during a rally outside the parliament's building, Dec. 1, 2024Zurab Tsertsvadze/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

On Saturday night’s demonstrations, reporter Maka Chikhladze and her colleague at TV Pirveli were targeted by a violent mob who attempted to intimidate the pair into silence.  

Chikhladze said her colleague captured footage of men dressed in black, who joined the rallies only to attack the protesters.  

The mob, realising they’ve been caught on camera, turned to Chikhladze and violently shoved her to the ground. Her colleague was also attacked, sustained a head injury and had her camera and gear stolen in the process, said Chikhladze.  

Why are Georgians protesting?

The ruling Georgian Dream retained control of parliament in a disputed parliamentary election on 26 October, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Georgia's EU aspirations. 

The opposition accused the governing party of rigging the vote with the help of neighbouring Russia to keep what they call the 'Moscow-friendly' Georgian Dream party in power. 

But the initial protests against the election took on a new dimension and spread beyond the capital Tbilisi after the Georgian Dream’s decision last Thursday to put EU accession talks on hold until at least 2028. 

Police use a water cannon to clear protesters during a rally outside the parliament to protest the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European UnionZurab Tsertsvadze/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

The decision to suspend accession talks was made in response to a European Parliament resolution criticising the elections as neither free nor fair. 

It said the election represented another manifestation of Georgia’s continued democratic backsliding "for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible." 

Tbilisi formally applied for EU membership in March of 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They were granted EU candidate status in December of the following year, to the delight of many Georgians who celebrated on the streets of Tbilisi.  

Protesters say they will continue to demonstrate against this injustice, for as long as it takes, until their demands are met.