Dozens hospitalised in third night of pro-EU protests in Georgia | Georgia

Third night of protests in the Georgian capital against the government’s decision to cease negotiations to join the EU left 44 people hospitalized, officials said Sunday.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside parliament on Saturday night, throwing stones and setting off fireworks as police used water cannons and tear gas.

A statue of the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, was burned outside parliament.

The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 27 protesters, 16 police officers and one media official had been hospitalized.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a briefing: “Any violation of the law will be met with the full severity of the law. Nor will those politicians who hide in their offices and sacrifice members of their violent gangs for severe punishment escape accountability.

He insisted that it was not true that Georgia’s European integration had been stopped. “The only thing we have rejected is the shameful and insulting extortion, which was actually a significant obstacle to the European integration of our country,” he said.

The government’s announcement came hours after the European Parliament passed a resolution saying Georgia’s general election last month was not free or fair.

New EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kalas and enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement on Sunday: “We note that this statement marks a change in the policies of all previous Georgian governments and the European aspirations of the vast majority of the Georgian people, as is enshrined in the constitution of Georgia.

They reiterated the EU’s “serious concern about the country’s continued democratic retreat” and called on the Georgian authorities to “respect the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and refrain from using force against peaceful protesters, politicians and members of the media”.

Georgian Dream’s contested victory in parliamentary elections on October 26, which were seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, sparked demonstrations and led to a boycott of parliament by the opposition.

The opposition said the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial overlord, as Moscow hopes to keep Tbilisi in its orbit.

Georgia’s pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili said on Saturday that her country was becoming a “quasi-Russian” state and that the Georgian Dream controlled key institutions.

“We don’t want a revolution. We want new elections, but under conditions that will guarantee that the will of the people will not be distorted or stolen again,” Zurabishvili said.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023. on condition that it implements the bloc’s recommendations, but delayed its accession and reduced financial support earlier this year after the passage of the “foreign influence” law, which was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.