Tbilisi, the protest that won't go away against the Georgian Dream

Prime Minister Iraklij Kobakhidze's declaration of the interruption of EU accession talks until 2028 has made the clash even harsher, while the Constitutional Court has confirmed the outcome of the disputed elections. The police are using water cannons and tear gas and have already arrested hundreds of people. Former prime minister Georgij Kvirikašvili, former president of the majority party, has also sided with the protesters.

Tbilisi (AsiaNews) - The protest demonstrations in Georgia have been going on in waves for months now (before and after the elections that many believe were ‘falsified’) and have taken on an even broader and more intense character since Prime Minister Iraklij Kobakhidze's declaration of the interruption of negotiations for entry into the European Union.

Since 1 December, people have been taking to the streets despite the freezing weather not only in the capital Tbilisi, but also in many other cities across the country such as Batumi, Poti, Rustavi, Telavi and Kutaisi. While the Constitutional Court of Georgia confirmed the victory of the Georgian Dream party, and rejected President Salome Zurabišvili's petition to challenge the validity of the parliamentary elections.

In Tbilisi, the epicentre of the protests remains parliament square, where demonstrators throw firecrackers and fireworks at police officers, set up mobile barricades and light bonfires to warm themselves and defend their positions.

The police use water cannons and tear gas, and have already arrested hundreds of people, including one of the opposition leaders, the head of the ‘Coalition for Change’ Zurab Džaparidze. More than one hundred policemen received injuries of varying degrees, while injured demonstrators were not counted.

The authorities have tried not to react too violently for a long time, trusting in a weakening of the protests to demonstrate the insubstantiality of the oppositions, but now the reactions are getting harsher and more authoritarian. Kobakhidze has stated that he will not allow a ‘second Ukrainian Maidan’ to take place in the country, implicitly confirming Moscow's positions, while the Kremlin is pretending nothing is happening and spokesman Dmitry Peskov states that ‘these are internal Georgian issues, we have nothing to do with them’.

In addition to politicians opposed to the Georgian Dream regime, with the president of the republic Salome Zurabišvili as the image-symbol of resistance, more and more state officials and representatives of the Georgian business community are taking the side of the demonstrators. The president does not intend to leave office, as she was ordered to do before the elections for her successor on 14 December, and the Oberliani presidential palace is now the de facto headquarters of the opposition, which is demanding new elections for a legitimate parliament.

An authoritative voice has joined the protests, that of ex-premier Georgij Kvirikašvili, former president of the majority party, and several ambassadors have resigned, including those to the USA, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy and Lithuania.

Salome Šapakidze, now a former ambassador to Vilnius, said that ‘it has been an honour for me to serve the national interests for two decades, to contribute to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia on the Euro-Atlantic itinerary, because Georgia is Europe! Over 200 representatives of various state bodies signed a declaration opposing Kobakhidze's choices, from the National Bank, the Ministry of Finance, Justice and others.

Entrepreneurs and representatives of high finance also spoke out against the government, such as the heads of the banks TBC and Bank of Georgia, according to whom ‘there is no alternative to heading towards Europe’. This was expressed by the communication operators of major groups such as Magti and Silknet, the leading car company Tegeta and the developer Orbi Group.

The premier explained that he does not intend to give up on the EU membership project, but the exit from the negotiations until 2028 is necessary because ‘Brussels is using them as a blackmail weapon, to prevent the development of our political decisions’.

Invoking concepts typical of Russian propaganda, Kobakhidze explains that ‘European politicians and bureaucrats are completely devoid of true European values, and we will talk to them again when they regain a modicum of dignity’.

It is not easy to understand why the leaders of the Georgian Dream decided to harden their positions at this very sensitive moment, knowing that they would provoke reactions throughout Georgia, if not to carry out a plan to sabotage European integration that comes from afar, under the shadow of the Kremlin.