Georgian protesters clash with police for a second night after EU talks are suspended
CTV
Thousands of demonstrators protesting the Georgian government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union rallied outside the parliament.
Thousands of demonstrators protesting the Georgian government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union rallied outside the parliament and clashed with police for a second straight night on Friday.
The night before, police used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters who took to the streets of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the suspension. The interior ministry said it detained 43 people during the protests.
On Friday evening, protesters again swarmed the parliament, with some trying to break the metal gates to the building. Riot police used water cannons to push them away from the building and later moved to force them farther back along the Rustaveli Avenue, the city's main boulevard.
Some of the protesters used garbage bins and benches to try to build barricades.
Clashes between police and protesters also erupted late Friday in the Black Sea port of Batumi.
Georgian Dream's disputed victory in the Oct. 26 election, which was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union, has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit.
President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters on Thursday after accusing the government of declaring “war” on its own people. In Friday's address to the nation, Zourabichvili urged police not to use force against protesters.
