EU Ambassador condemns law enforcement’s use of force on Tbilisi rally protesting delay in bloc integration

Pawel Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Friday condemned the “use of violence against peaceful protesters” in Tbilisi during a rally sparked by the Government’s move on Thursday to halt the accession talks with the bloc until 2028. 

In his press comments, the diplomat called the “use of violence absolutely unacceptable", and reaffirmed the EU’s support for the Georgian people. 

He also expressed “understanding of the anger and frustration felt by the majority of Georgians who want the country to join the bloc”.

The Ambassador further noted the protests erupted later on Thursday were a “spontaneous reaction, not orchestrated by any political party”, and highlighted the “right of citizens in any democracy to peacefully express their opinions”. 

The Georgian Interior Ministry on Friday said law enforcement had arrested 43 individuals during protests outside the Parliament building in central Tbilisi overnight for “disobedience to police orders” and “petty hooliganism”.

Twenty-two journalists and cameramen were reportedly assaulted during the rally dispersal, domestic media also reported.

The protests, already present before the Government’s announcement on Thursday, entered a new gear with the development, in which Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the decision to suspend the accession talks had been based on interest in “dignified” EU integration amid a “cascade of insults and blackmail by European politicians and bureaucrats”.