Protesters caused damage and burned facilities belonging to the Legislature and two police officers were injured as a result of the riots
Georgia declared illegal opposition protests against the freezing of negotiations for the country’s entry into the European Union (EU) until 2028, which have shaken the Georgian capital for the second day in a row, and began detaining protesters.
“The action on Rustaveli Avenue, near parliament, is outside the law on meetings and demonstrations,” said the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, cited by EFE.
According to authorities, the protesters caused damage and burned facilities belonging to the Legislature and two police officers were injured as a result of the riots.
After this announcement, the police began to disperse the protesters with pepper spray and water cannons and to make arrests, although, so far, the number of detainees has not been released.
Previously, protesters had tried to enter parliament, threw stones, paint bottles and other objects at the police and intervention forces and set fire to garbage containers, broke windows of the parliamentary headquarters and set fire to the external wiring.
On Rustaveli Avenue, several dozen protesters in gas masks tried to erect barricades with benches and ballot boxes.
So far, the number of protesters has been reduced from several thousand to several hundred.
Meanwhile, Georgian President Salomé Zurabizhvili, aligned with the opposition, celebrated the start of the “peaceful and constitutional resistance movement” and promised to “support the participants until Georgia returns to the European path”.
“Protests have spread across the country,” he said, noting that officials from several ministries and institutions oppose the government’s decision to freeze EU accession negotiations.
The Georgian authorities were unable to calm the spirit of the protests, despite statements by Prime Minister Irakli Kobajidze, who stressed that “Georgia maintains its attachment to the objectives of Eurointegration” and that “all necessary measures will be taken” so that the nation Caucasians join the EU in 2030.
On Thursday, peaceful protests turned into violent clashes, in which at least 32 police officers were injured and more than 40 protesters were detained.
