Water cannons, tear gas and arrests. The Georgian government’s repression of pro-EU protesters continues. Zurab Japaridze, leader of the pro-EU opposition in Georgia, ended up in prison on the morning of December 2nd. The arrest took place after the harsh repression by the Georgian police against the anti-government demonstrators who took to the streets for the fourth consecutive night.
The protests are the result of the Georgian government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. Protesters interpret it as a confirmation of a move away from pro-Western policies, under the influence of Russia. The ruling Georgian Dream party, recently confirmed in power in hotly contested elections, however denies its relations with Moscow.
Who is the Georgian anti-government leader Zurab Japaridze
Zurab Japaridze is one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change”, an opposition alliance, who in a post on X announced his arrest as he left the demonstration. Video images show Japaridze being loaded into an unmarked vehicle by policemen with their faces covered.
BREAKING: Early this morning, the police detained one of the Coalition 4 Change leaders, leader of Girchi-More Freedom party Zurab Girchi Japaridze.
This happened on Tamarashvili Avenue, an entire residential district away from the protests.
Japaridze was fleeing together with… pic.twitter.com/ZjRyfmtDlN— Coalition 4 Change 🇬🇪🇪🇺 (@CoalitionGEO) December 2, 2024
The arrest occurred on Tamarashvili Avenue, a residential neighborhood far from the protests, the Coalition for Change said. “Japaridze was fleeing together with other demonstrators while being grabbed, which indicates that this was a conscious and targeted move by the regime,” the opposition group said on X.
Hundreds of people arrested in Georgia
In total, 224 people were arrested during the protests. The country’s Interior Ministry said 21 police officers were injured during the crackdown on the demonstrations, during which officers also used water cannons and tear gas. The country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, lined up alongside the protesters and wrote in X: “Another powerful night of Georgians determined to defend their constitution and their European choice. The determination in the streets shows no signs of stopping !”.
Clashes, injuries and arrests: anger explodes in Georgia after the suspension of EU membership
Both the United States and the European Union consider the government’s choices a sign of democratic backsliding on Georgia’s part. The country, with a population of 3.7 million, is geographically located between Europe and Asia and was once part of the Soviet Union. The controversial victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the October 26 parliamentary elections, widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, sparked large demonstrations, including leading to a boycott of parliament by the opposition.
Georgia squeezed between Moscow and Brussels
Moscow denies any interference with Georgian politics, but former President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia is “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, towards the dark abyss”, adding: “Usually this kind of thing ends very bad.” On December 1st, Kaja Kallas, who had just taken office as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, warned in a tweet that violence against demonstrators and the country’s move away from Brussels would lead to Georgia “facing direct consequences from the side of the ‘Ue’. Although they have not been clarified, the moves that EU diplomacy could adopt are different.
First, the suspension of a visa liberalization agreement (in force since 2017), which allows Georgians to spend up to three months in the bloc’s member states without a visa. Other consequences could concern the country’s EU accession process, which until now had held the role of candidate country. However, these choices could have consequences opposite to those desired, ending up “punishing” even Georgians eager to become part of the European family.
