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Thursday, December 5, 2024

Georgia: Crackdown begins on anti-government protesters | World News

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Georgia’s prime minister had vowed to punish those participating in the anti-government protests that have engulfed the capital Tbilisi. On Wednesday, it seems, the crackdown began.

Police launched multiple raids on opposition party offices, with one leader reportedly detained and beaten unconscious.

In footage shared by the Coalition for Change party, its leader Nika Gvaramia can be seen arguing with officers. Tensions are high. All of a sudden, things turn violent and the politician disappears under a mass of masked men.

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Police fire tear gas towards protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Pic: AP

We are unable to independently verify whether he was beaten or not.

But he doesn’t appear to be moving when his body is carried away by police.

Outside the offices of Droa, another opposition party that was targeted by authorities, we saw dozens of masked police officers.

Some formed a wall around the door to the building, as others carried out box after box of Droa’s property, and loaded them onto a lorry.

Activists say it’s an attempt to silence them. If it is, it doesn’t seem to have worked.


Pic: Reuters
Image:
A demonstrator launches a firework during a rally. Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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A protester helps another to clean his gas mask. Pic: Reuters

“This is alarming of course. This is undemocratic. This is violent. But I did not expect anything else from this government,” Droa executive secretary Giga Lemonjava told Sky News.

“They’re just a criminal gang. They do not have any political legitimacy.

“We’re not scared. We’re going until the end. We won’t give up our European future, our freedom.”

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‘Georgian people deserve a European future’

Protesters aren’t giving up either. In a blaze of fireworks and fury, thousands once again filled the main avenue outside Georgia‘s parliament on Wednesday for a seventh night in a row.

Their anger was initially sparked by the government’s suspension of EU accession talks last week, which demonstrators claim has stolen their future.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, they say, is in fact a Russian dream – a Kremlin plot to drag Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.

Read more from Sky News:
Georgians worry about ending up like Ukraine

Protesters undeterred in battle for Georgia’s future

People wrapped in the European Union flags attend a rally held by supporters of Georgia's opposition parties to protest against the government's decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union in Tbilisi, Georgia December 4, 2024. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze
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Protesters wrapped in European Union flags at an anti-government rally. Pic: Reuters

Each night, the protesters have been dispersed by a violent mixture of tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has repeatedly praised the police for their response, but others have raised the alarm.

Lasha Uchava, a doctor at the National Institute for Endocrinology, says the water cannon has been mixed with pepper spray. Having seen its effect on demonstrators, he fears it could prove lethal.

“Such dispersal measures should not be used repeatedly on the same group of people,” Dr Uchava told Sky News.

“When clothing becomes saturated in this mixture, the harmful effects on the respiratory system and the skin are prolonged. This can lead to severe problems, including fatal consequences in some cases.”

The protesters hope it’ll be the other way around, of course – that the only consequences are for those cracking down.



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