Last Updated:
PM Irakli Kobakhidze blamed the EU and cracked down on protests in Tbilisi after clashes near the presidential palace, detaining opposition figures like Paata Burchuladze.
The violence broke out as protesters, rallying against the ruling Georgian Dream Party, tried to breach security barriers near the palace in the final minutes before polls closed in local elections. (AFP/X)
Amid protests in Georgia, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced a sweeping crackdown on dissent and slammed the protesters who tried to storm the presidential palace for aiming to topple his government. He also blamed the European Union for interfering in this country’s internal affairs.
This comes a day after protesters set fire to chairs and tables outside Georgia’s presidential palace in Tbilisi as police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators.
Recommended Stories
The violence broke out as protesters, rallying against the ruling Georgian Dream Party, tried to breach security barriers near the palace in the final minutes before polls closed in local elections. Officers in riot gear moved in with tear gas and armoured vehicles to push the crowd back.
“No one will escape responsibility. This includes political responsibility,” the Georgian news agency Interpress quoted the prime minister as saying.
The officers had detained at least five demonstrators, including two members of the United National Movement, the largest opposition party, and the opera singer turned activist Paata Burchuladze.
The health ministry stated that 21 members of the security forces and six demonstrators had been injured in clashes in the centre of Tbilisi.
According to The Guardian, the South Caucasus country has been in turmoil since Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party claimed victory in last year’s parliamentary election, which the pro-EU opposition says was stolen. Since then, Tbilisi’s talks on joining the bloc have been frozen.
About 7,000 people attended Saturday’s opposition rally but their “attempt to overthrow the constitutional order”.
“Several people have already been arrested – first and foremost the organisers of the attempted overthrow,” Kobakhidze told reporters, saying the country’s main opposition force “will no longer be allowed to be active in Georgian politics”.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the heart of the capital, waving Georgian and EU flags, after months of Kremlin-style raids on independent media, restrictions on civil society and the detention of dozens of opponents and activists, The Guardian reported.
Georgia
October 06, 2025, 02:03 IST
Loading comments…
Read More
