The Georgian Interior Ministry announced, Saturday, November 30, the arrest of 107 demonstrators on Friday, during a second evening of mobilization against the postponement of accession negotiations to the European Union, in the midst of the post-electoral crisis.
The arrests took place for “disobeying police orders” And “acts of vandalism”he specifies. In the evening, riot police again used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, according to Agence France-Presse journalists on site.
“Throughout the night (…), demonstrators threw various objects, including stones, pyrotechnic devices, glass bottles and metal objects, at the police.”said the Interior Ministry, according to which ten members of the police were injured. On Friday, he reported 32 officers injured and 43 arrests.
The Caucasus country has been in turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in elections at the end of October, which the opposition and President Salome Zourabichvili say were tainted by fraud.
The government, accused of pro-Russian authoritarian drift, announced Thursday the postponement of negotiations for accession to the European Union until 2028, a long-standing objective approved by 80% of the population.
The Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, presented this decision as a retaliatory measure against the adoption, a few hours earlier, of a non-binding resolution of the European Parliament, in which the deputies rejected the results of the legislative elections of 26 October, which they judge “neither free nor fair” and tainted with“significant irregularities”.
A former Soviet republic, Georgia obtained candidate status for membership in December 2023, but Brussels has since frozen the process, accusing the government formed by Georgian Dream of serious democratic backsliding.
Source: Lemonde