Georgia has been rocked by protests after its increasingly autocratic government said it would halt the former Soviet country’s bid to join the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which claimed victory in last month’s election that observers said was fraudulent, announced on Thursday that it would suspend accession talks with the EU until 2028. Its decision quickly sparked protests in the capital, Tbilisi, where demonstrators were heard chanting “Russian slaves” at police officers guarding the parliament building.
The protests were eventually put down early morning Friday. Police fired water cannons and tear gas at protesters, while men wearing balaclavas were seen running into the crowds and beating individuals. Salome Zourabichvili, the country’s pro-Western president whose powers are mostly ceremonial, claimed that the police “targeted journalists and political leaders.
” The protests are part of the ongoing fallout from the country’s October 26 parliamentary election, which was seen as a referendum on alignment with Russia or the West. After years of moving closer towards Europe – and securing EU candidate status late last year – Georgian Dream has taken a sharp authoritarian turn. In May, it forced through a Kremlin-style “foreign agent” law, which critics say aims to shut down watchdogs who call the government to account.
Georgian Dream claimed victory with 54% of the vote, but opposition parties claimed the election was rigged. Zoura.