30 November 2024
The police chased the remaining participants of the anti-Russian protest on Rustaveli Avenue and physically assaulted those who had taken shelter in a pharmacy
Protesters are not leaving and are erecting barricades on Rustaveli avenue and bracing for another cruel wave of dispersal with water cannons and allegedly gas spray, or some kind of chemical irritant. video: Nini Gabritchidze/civil.ge
Riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to disperse protesters, but they are still holding their ground on Rustaveli Avenue, setting up barricades and lighting fires
The brutal dispersal started on Rustaveli avenue. Unidentified people in black overalls, helmets and gas masks are operating in front of the riot police line, chasing and beating peaceful protesters. Meanwhile the water cannons are blasting the water, mixed with unidentified substance
Several protesters were injured in standoff with police near Parliament of Georgia
Standoff between riot police and protesters near the parliament continues. The street lights have been switched off. Police regularly use pepper spray and throw gas canisters. People are chanting: "Sakartvelo." ("Georgia.")
Special forces equipped with new water cannon cars are moving towards Rustaveli avenue
Government started arresting protesters, used gas
Employees of Georgia's Foreign Ministry, with 44 signatures, have issued a joint statement denouncing the decision to delay EU accession talks until 2028, asserting that it contradicts Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution
Situation in Tbilisi now: some are trying to break barrier, some climb inside, some clash with police on side streets, some threw some construction out
The President @Zourabichvili_S has walked to the special forces preparing to advance against protesters and is now talking to them. She asks them whether they had vowed to protect Georgia and Georgians or Russia, and demands they think of the future of their children
Situation is still tense on the right side of the parliament, police are flashing a strong light against protesters as they flash green lasers at the police. People keep chanting “Russians”
President Salome Zourabichvili joined the protest
Clashes with police now in Tbilisi
Side streets near the Parliament building are blocked by police, and clashes between protesters and police are occurring from time to time.
Things are getting tense on Chichinadze Street, by the parliament, as the standoff between protesters and police heats up, with both sides pushing against each other. Photo: Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge
Citizens gathered in front of Parliament and raised the EU flag nearby
Protesters have printed Putin’s statement where he praised GD and are holding them in front of the police, urging them to take people’s side and not Russian
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili: Today marks the end of the constitutional coup unfolding for weeks. The course set months ago, taking us from Europe toward Russia, has now concluded. Today, this illegitimate government declared not peace, but war—on its own people, past, and future
Georgia: Police in Kutaisi assaulted activist Misha Mumladze during a protest in Kutaisi. The incident occurred after Mumladze urged participants to block the road by crossing the zebra crossing in groups. Photo @FormulaGe
Rustaveli avenue now. “Power to the people”, protesters chant angrily as people keep coming to the streets
Following Georgian Dream's decision to halt Georgia's EU membership bid, citizens in various cities, including Batumi, organized spontaneous protest rallies
Protesters in Kutaisi gathered near Georgian Dream office and blocked the surrounding road
To protest the cancellation of membership negotiations with the European Union, some citizens are gathering at the office of 'Georgian Dream,' while others are gathering at Parliament. Police have mobilized
Protesters are gathering in front of the Georgian Dream office
The President @Zourabichvili_S has called an emergency meeting with members of the diplomatic corps. She is expected to make a statement at 8pm
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has announced the country is halting its EU membership bid ‘until the end 2028’
EU Resolution Adopted on Georgia's Parliamentary Elections: The EP has rejected the results of Georgia’s October parliamentary elections, citing significant irregularities and democratic backsliding under the Georgian Dream party. MEPs condemned voter intimidation, vote manipulation, interference with observers and media, and alleged tampering with electronic voting machines. Declaring the results either free nor fair, unrepresentative of the Georgian people’s will, they demanded a re-run within a year under independent, international supervision. Parliament urged the EU and its members states to impose sanctions on top Georgian Dream officials, including, including oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, for their roles in undermining democracy. They also called for limiting formal EU-level contacts with the Georgian government and parliament.1 day ago
EU Resolution Adopted on Georgia's Parliamentary Elections: The EP has rejected the results of Georgia’s October parliamentary elections, citing significant irregularities and democratic backsliding under the Georgian Dream party. MEPs condemned voter intimidation, vote manipulation, interference with observers and media, and alleged tampering with electronic voting machines. Declaring the results either free nor fair, unrepresentative of the Georgian people’s will, they demanded a re-run within a year under independent, international supervision. Parliament urged the EU and its members states to impose sanctions on top Georgian Dream officials, including, including oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, for their roles in undermining democracy. They also called for limiting formal EU-level contacts with the "Georgian government and parliament".
Georgia's parliament has approved the composition of the government, which Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream will again head. After the October parliamentary elections in Georgia, protests began by the opposition, which did not recognize the results
A solo protest took place in front of the Georgian Parliament, with a woman opposing Mikheil Kavelashvili’s presidential candidacy. Photo: Elene Kaikhosroshvili