More than 60 arrested in Georgia in massive pro-European protest

More than 60 arrested in Georgia in massive pro-European protest

Protesters gathered, waving Georgian and European Union flags, in front of the Parliament in Tbilisi, where a police platoon unleashed a violent repression that ended with 63 detainees.

A wave of massive protests has shaken this small former Soviet republic in the Caucasus since April 9, when the government began processing a bill on “foreign influence.”which critics argue is inspired by Russia’s “foreign agents” law, used to silence dissent.

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The party in power Georgian Dreamattempted to pass this legislation in early 2023, but failed due to massive protests. This law was described by the European Union as incompatible with the country’s aspirations to integrate the bloc.

Riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters, an AFP journalist reported.

“We are not going to allow them to approve a Russian law that could bury our future in Europe”he told AFP Natia Gabisoniaa 21-year-old protester.

The opposition deputy Levan Khabeishvili was severely beaten during the crackdown and required medical assistance. Khabeishvili is president of the United National Movement, the main opposition party of the former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned.

The Interior Ministry said police used violence “legitimately” to contain a protest that had turned “violent” and reported that 63 people were detained.

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The word of the European Union after the repression in Georgia

The EU representative for Foreign Relations, Josep Borrell, condemned the repression this Wednesday. “Georgia is a candidate country for the EU and I call on the authorities to guarantee the right of peaceful assembly,” Borrell declared on the social network X.

“Georgia is an EU candidate country, I ask its authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly. The use of force to repress it is unacceptable,” the high representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, wrote on his profile on the social network X.

Borrell’s comments came a day after Georgian security forces used water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds protesting in Tbilisi against the controversial “foreign agents” bill.

Georgian deputies examined the bill in second reading on Tuesday and the government hopes to approve it before mid-May.

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Source: Ambito

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