Many thousands of demonstrators gathered late on Saturday in Georgia's capital Tbilisi, building barricades, breaking windows and setting off fireworks outside parliament.
Many thousands of demonstrators gathered late on Saturday in Georgia's capital Tbilisi , building barricades, breaking windows and setting off fireworks outside parliament, in protest against the government which called off talks to join the EU.The demonstrations were by far the biggest since the increasingly anti-Western ruling party was re-elected last month in a vote the pro-EU opposition says was rigged.
The country, long one of the most staunchly pro-Western states to emerge from the breakup of the Soviet Union but lately drawn closer into Moscow's orbit, was thrown into crisis on Thursday, when the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was halting European Union accession talks for the next four years. It accused the EU of blackmailing Georgia.
"The people of Georgia are trying to protect their constitution, trying to protect their country and the state, and they are trying to tell our government that rule of law means everything," she told Reuters.President Salome Zourabichvili, who opposes the government and supports EU membership but whose powers are mainly ceremonial, said she would not leave office when her term ends next month, because the new parliament was illegitimate and had no authority to name her successor.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze accused opponents of the halt to EU accession of plotting a revolt, along the lines of Ukraine's 2014 Maidan protest, which ousted a pro-Russian president. Over 200 serving diplomats signed an open letter condemning the government's stance. Hundreds of employees at Georgia's defence, justice and education ministries, and at the central bank, have also signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze EU accession talks.
Major businesses, including the London-listed banks TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia stated their support for EU accession. The country's powerful Orthodox Church issued a statement condemning violence at protests.The EU has said it deeply regrets the government's move. The U.S. State Department said on Saturday that it was suspending its strategic partnership with Georgia in response.
Foreign Policy Irakli Kobakhidze Tbilisi Business News
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