Protests erupted in Tbilisi, Georgia, as citizens rallied outside parliament against the government's decision to suspend EU accession talks for four years, described by PM Irakli Kobakhidze as a response to alleged 'blackmail' by the EU. This move has sparked widespread public anger, considering EU membership is deeply supported by the Georgian populace.
A protester waves an European Union flag during a rally outside the parliament to protest the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia , on Nov. 30. Georgia n Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Saturday that the state would not allow a revolution to take place, after protests against his government’s sudden freezing this week of Georgia ’s EU accession process.
The freezing of application talks has been met with widespread anger in the country, which has the aim of EU membership written into its constitution. The country’s interior ministry said on Saturday that it had detained 107 people in the capital city of Tbilisi overnight during a protest which saw demonstrators build barricades along the central Rustaveli Avenue, and throw fireworks at riot police, who used water cannon and tear gas to disperse them.Hundreds of employees of Georgia’s foreign, defence, justice and education ministries, along with the country’s central bank have signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze talks.
The halt to EU accession caps months of deteriorating relations between Georgian Dream, which has faced allegations of authoritarian and pro-Russian tendencies, and the West. Both the ruling party and Georgia’s electoral commission say the poll was free and fair. Western countries have called for an investigation into violations.
EU Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze EU Accession Talks Protests Blackmail
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