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Protests in Georgia escalate: Injured in police violence!
Demonstrations in Georgia escalate after EU membership announcement; Protest against police violence and calls for new elections.
Protests in Georgia escalate: Injured in police violence!
Violent protests have rocked the political landscape in Georgia after Japaridze, leader of the main opposition Coalition for Change party, was arrested in Tbilisi. This came during the fourth consecutive night of demonstrations sparked by the government's decision to suspend accession negotiations with the European Union. Critics, including Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, see this move as a sign of a Russian-dominated move away from pro-Western policies, which is increasingly plunging the country into a political crisis, reports Small newspaper.
Violent clashes and injured demonstrators
During the protests in front of Parliament there were serious clashes, with the police using tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators. Twenty-one police officers were reportedly injured, bringing the total number of injured since the conflict began to 113. Many of the underlying injuries also affect the protesters themselves, who often suffered head and facial injuries, while U.S. authorities accuse Georgian police of excessive force. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze accuses the opposition of using coordinated violence to destabilize the constitutional order.
In a parallel incident in Russia, such as the German wave reported, protests also broke out in Bashkortostan after the harsh sentence against political activist Fail Alsynov. He was sentenced to four years in prison for making derogatory comments about migrants from the Caucasus during environmental protests. Thousands of people gathered to demonstrate against his detention, leading to a massive police operation in which tear gas and stun grenades were used to disperse the crowd.
The events in Georgia and Bashkortostan point to a worrying trend of increasing resentment against the governments in both countries, with both domestic and international reactions expected to the brutal crackdown by security forces. The situation remains tense and it remains to be seen how the respective governments will respond to the ongoing pressure from citizens.