Sixth night of clashes in Georgian capital after EU talks suspended

Описание: (3 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT INCLUDES SHOTS OF PROTESTERS MAKING RUDE GESTURES++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tbilisi - 3 December 2024
++NIGHT SHOTS/CONTAINS FLASHING LIGHTS++
1. Protesters firing fireworks at riot police, advancing behind rubbish container
2. Protesters shining laser pointers through smoke-filled air
3. Low angle of police line
4. Protesters banging rubbish container, firing more fireworks
5. Laser pointers shining through smoke and gas-filled air
6. Police firing tear gas towards protester
7. Ambulances
8. Police line
9. Several fireworks going off in street
STORYLINE:
Protesters clashed with police in the Georgian capital for the sixth night running on Tuesday after the government’s decision last week to suspend negotiations to join the European Union.

Footage showed protesters firing fireworks towards riot police who responded with tear gas.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 293 protesters were detained on administrative charges and five arrested on criminal charges.

The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in the disputed October 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations.

The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighbouring Russia's help and boycotted parliament sessions.

Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party's decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold.

The Georgian government’s announcement of the EU accession talks’ suspension came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing October’s election as neither free nor fair.

On Monday, the EU reiterated its “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country."

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream declared Tuesday that the government is willing to open EU accession talks if the bloc ends its “blackmail.”

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