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Anti-government protests have been going on in Tbilisi and other major cities of Georgia for the sixth day, FREEDOM reports with reference to AP.
Tens of thousands of people are taking to the streets demanding the country return to the course of European integration.
The police are using tear gas, water cannons and smoke grenades against the protesters. Security forces are carrying out harsh detentions.
The most active confrontations are on Rustaveli Avenue, where the Georgian parliament building is located, and on Chavchavadze Avenue, near the first building of Tbilisi State University. This is where activists move when security forces prepare to disperse the protests. Protesters are erecting mobile barricades to protect themselves from the police.
It is known that over 200 people were detained in the first four days of protests.
Here is what the protesters are saying:
- Nikoloz Miruashvili: “We went to the elections – they were clearly falsified. And we have done everything in our power to show: we want a European future. So right now we are going to defend ourselves, our country, our people and, most importantly, our future”;
- Lana Lagvilava: “We do not want to be part of Russia. We want to be part of Europe, and we belong to Europe. And this is our very, very first demand – to belong to Europe. We want to be part of Europe. We want to be part of development, we want to be part of sustainable development, and we want to be part of a better life”;
- Mariam Tskitishvili: “The reason is very simple: my country deserves freedom from the Russian regime, which has persecuted us for many centuries. And I believe that we need to get into Europe. This is really what we have wanted for many, many centuries.”
As reported earlier, at the end of November, the reason for a new wave of protests by the Georgian people was the statement by the ruling Georgian Dream party that the government was suspending negotiations on Georgia’s accession to the European Union and would refuse EU budget grants until 2028.
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