Police, pro-EU Georgians clash for second night at protests over accession freeze
Updates with police moving against protesters, paragraphs 1-3
By Felix Light
TBILISI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Police deploying water cannon and pepper spray moved against thousands of pro-European protesters massed in the centre of Tbilisi onFriday after Georgia'sruling party said it was halting EU accession talks until 2028.
EU accession is overwhelmingly popular in Georgia according to opinion polls, and the move saw thousands protest outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on Thursday, with riot police using water cannon and gas to disperse them.
Protesters carrying Georgian and EU flags pressed towards the Soviet-built fortress-like parliament building and hurled fireworks at police officers trying to disperse them.
Elene Khoshtaria, a leader of Georgia's largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change, had her hand broken during Thursday's crackdown, which she compared to police tactics in Russia and Belarus.
Speaking to Reuters with her arm held up by a sling, she said: "We are not going to give in, we are not going to give up. But I think the international community should think how to support people who really believe in European values."
The freezing of application talks has been met with widespread anger in Georgia, which has the aim of EU membership written into its constitution.
Hundreds of serving employees of the country's foreign, defence, education and justice ministries on Friday signed open letters denouncing the freeze in talks as unconstitutional.
A string of private universities have said they are suspending studies amid the unrest, while business groups have called for the government to review its stance.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which won almost 54% of the vote in an October election that opposition parties say was rigged, said on Thursday that it was freezing membership talks over what it said was EU "blackmail" of Georgia.
The move caps months of deteriorating relations between Georgia and the West, which has accused the Tbilisi government of authoritarian and pro-Russian inclinations.
Georgian Dream has this year passed laws against so-called "foreign agents" and LGBT rights, which critics say are draconian in nature and Russian in inspiration.
The party, which is widely seen as controlled by its founder, billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, says it wants eventually to join the EU, and that the laws it has passed are necessary to defend Georgia's traditional values.
The EU's ambassador to Georgia described Georgian Dream's stance as "heartbreaking" on Friday and condemned the crackdown on protesters.
Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Ron Popeski and Diane Craft
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
