More than 100 arrested as Georgian police clash with protesters over suspension of EU talks

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — More than 100 demonstrators were arrested overnight in Georgia as protesters clashed with police following the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union, the country’s Interior Ministry said Saturday.

It was the second straight night of protests after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the country’s ruling Georgian Dream party announced the decision the previous day. Demonstrators faced off against police late Friday in a number of major Georgian cities, including the capital, Tbilisi, and the Black Sea port of Batumi.

The Associated Press saw protesters in Tbilisi being chased and beaten by police as demonstrators rallied in front of the country’s parliament building.

Riot police used water cannons to push protesters away from the building and later moved to force them farther back along Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main boulevard.

Police also used heavy force against members of the media and used loudspeakers to shout profanities and insults at the crowds.

Georgian Dream’s disputed victory in the country’s Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union, has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament.

The opposition has said that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial master, with Moscow hoping to keep Tbilisi in its orbit.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters on Thursday after accusing the government of declaring war on its own people. In an address to the nation Friday, she urged police not to use force against protesters.

“This is evident in every way — no one is willing to accept a Russified Georgia, a Georgia deprived of its constitution, or a Georgia in the hands of an illegitimate government and parliament,” Zourabichvili said.

“That is why so many of you are out here today: I see you. I see you on Rustaveli Avenue and in cities across Georgia: Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Akhmeta, Lagodekhi, Telavi. It is unprecedented for citizens of Georgia to rise up simultaneously and spontaneously in this way.”

Kobakhidze, the prime minister, characterized the protests Saturday as “violent demonstrations.” He said that unspecified “foreign entities” wished to see the “Ukrainization” of Georgia with a “Maidan-style scenario” – a reference to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution.

Kobakhidze also said that Georgia remained committed to European integration.

“Once again, we pledge to the Georgian public, which expressed solid trust in us during the Oct. 26 elections, that no one will shake the peace and stability of Georgia,” he said. “Despite artificial barriers, Georgia will persistently continue its progress toward European integration.”

The government’s announcement that it was suspending negotiations to join the EU came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s vote 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.”

European election observers said October’s vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

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 earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

Kobakhidze also said Georgia would reject any budgetary grants from the EU until the end of 2028.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.