Georgian Prime Minister Responds Amid Escalating Protests and Official Departures

Georgia has experienced a fourth consecutive night of street demonstrations and a series of public resignations. These events were prompted by the ruling party’s decision to halt efforts to initiate discussions regarding accession to the European Union. With tens of thousands of Georgians returning to the streets across multiple cities, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze asserted that demonstrators had been misled by opposition falsehoods and dismissed demands for fresh elections. The Prime Minister confirmed reports indicating that David Zalkaliani, Georgia’s ambassador to the US, was the most recent high-ranking diplomat to resign, stating that Zalkaliani had faced significant pressure. However, Kobakhidze attempted to dispute the stated cause of the protests, declaring on Sunday, “we have not suspended anything, it’s a lie”. Just three days prior, his party, Georgian Dream, had accused the EU of employing accession talks as “blackmail” and announced the government’s decision to postpone addressing that matter until the close of 2028. Pro-EU demonstrators gathered in large numbers once more on Sunday night. When fireworks were directed at both the parliament building and riot police, law enforcement officers retaliated with water cannon. Substantial contingents of riot police converged in side streets adjacent to parliament, and the demonstrations on the primary Rustaveli avenue were not dispersed until early Monday. As protesters dispersed from the vicinity, several individuals were apprehended, among them Zurab Japaridze, a prominent figure in the opposition alliance Coalition for Change. The Georgian interior ministry subsequently reported that 21 officers sustained injuries during overnight confrontations. Meanwhile, the pro-opposition president, Salome Zourabichvili, claimed that detained protesters had been subjected to beatings and referenced lawyers who stated that most of them had suffered severe injuries. Georgia’s government, which is perceived as increasingly authoritarian, has faced accusations of democratic backsliding from both the EU and the US. On Saturday, the United States made the notable move of suspending its strategic partnership with Georgia. Kobakhidze maintained that Georgian Dream remained “committed to European integration… and we are continuing on our path to the European dream”. Nevertheless, a growing number of public officials seemingly do not concur with this assertion. Multiple ambassadors have resigned, and hundreds of civil servants along with over 3,000 teachers have endorsed letters denouncing the choice to defer EU accession. Numerous Georgians have expressed dismay at the extent of violence targeting both Georgian journalists and protesters. Dozens of reporters have been subjected to beatings or pepper spray, with some requiring hospitalization. Levan Ioseliani, Georgia’s human rights ombudsman, characterized the situation as “this is brutality” and urged police to refrain from abusing their authority. The prime minister, however, attributed “systemic violence” to opposition groups rather than law enforcement. Natalie Sabanadze, Georgia’s former ambassador to the EU and currently affiliated with Chatham House in the UK, posits that the degree of violence, the series of resignations, and acts of civil disobedience signify a “qualitative change” in the ongoing protests. “Maybe [the government] thought people would be scared, but it’s not working out like this,” she informed the BBC. “Yesterday civil society activists and artists went to the public broadcaster and took it over and forced their way into the live stream. I’ve seen this before, in pre-revolutionary Georgia [in 2003].” Georgia’s pro-Western president is scheduled to conclude her term within weeks. Nevertheless, since last month’s disputed parliamentary elections, which opposition parties have condemned as rigged, she has emerged as an influential figurehead, mobilizing protesters against the government and advocating for a new election. Both she and the demonstrators accuse the government of intending to draw their nation back into Russia’s sphere of influence, despite an overwhelming majority of the populace supporting EU membership. Georgia possesses a population of approximately 3.7 million, and 20% of its land area is under Russian military occupation across two separatist regions. On Sunday during daylight hours, a small contingent of protesters occupied a traffic intersection situated in front of Tbilisi State University. “I’m here for my country’s future and the future of my three-year-old son,” stated a 29-year-old protester named Salome. “I don’t want him to spend his life at protests and I don’t want a Russian government.” Although Georgian Dream unequivocally denies any connections to the Kremlin, it has, over the past year, enacted Russian-style legislation that targets civil society organizations receiving foreign funding, as well as LGBT rights. Approximately half an hour’s walk from the daytime protest, a team of cleaners endeavored to remove graffiti from a wall in front of the Georgian parliament. Several windows of the building were broken on Saturday night, and an effigy of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire considered the primary influence behind Georgian Dream’s 12-year tenure in power, was set ablaze. The immediate question concerns the future trajectory of Georgia’s escalating political and constitutional crisis. The Georgian Dream government’s relationships with its Western allies have been severely compromised. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s new foreign policy chief, cautioned on Sunday that the government’s conduct would “have direct consequences from EU side,” and the US decision to suspend its strategic partnership is also expected to have broad repercussions. The Georgian prime minister showed scant regard for the president or her appeal for new elections. “Mrs Salome Zourabichvili has four Fridays left [as president] and she can’t get used to it. I understand her emotional state, but of course on 29 December she’ll have to leave.”