Police deployed water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray against thousands of pro-European protesters in central Tbilisi Saturday night, as demonstrations intensified over the ruling party’s decision to halt European Union accession talks until 2028.
Demonstrators erected barricades outside parliament and hurled fireworks at police officers in the second night of protests. The clash followed Thursday’s announcement by the Georgian Dream party to freeze EU membership negotiations, a move that violates the country’s constitutional commitment to European integration.
“We’ll be here every night until they get tired,” said Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Coalition for Change, warming his hands over a street fire. “This is our country, we only have one, we’re going to fight for Europe.”
The unrest has sparked widespread institutional opposition, with hundreds of employees from the foreign, defence, education, and justice ministries signing open letters denouncing the freeze as unconstitutional. Private universities have suspended classes, while business groups demand the government reconsider its position.
Georgian Dream, which won 54% in a disputed October election, claimed it was responding to EU “blackmail.” The decision follows months of deteriorating relations with the West, which has accused the Tbilisi government of authoritarian and pro-Russian tendencies. The party has passed controversial “foreign agents” and LGBT rights laws that critics say mirror Russian legislation.
Opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria, wearing a sling from injuries sustained in Thursday’s protests, called for international support. “We are not going to give in, we are not going to give up,” she said. “But I think the international community should think how to support people who really believe in European values.”
The EU’s ambassador to Georgia called the ruling party’s stance “heartbreaking” and condemned the crackdown on protesters. Georgian Dream, largely controlled by billionaire former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, maintains it eventually wants EU membership but says its recent laws are necessary to protect Georgian values.
