News | International
27 Dec 2024 7:16
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > International

    Journalists injured as Georgian police clash with protesters against EU application delay

    Police clashed with pro-EU protesters in Georgia's capital Tbilisi after the ruling party said it would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028. They used used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas, injuring journalists in the process.


    Police have clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, assaulting and injuring journalists, after the country's ruling party said the government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.

    Police ordered protesters to disperse, fired water cannon and deployed pepper spray and tear gas as masked young people tried to smash their way into the parliament.

    Some protesters tossed fireworks at police while shouting "Russians" and "Slaves!"

    The country's interior ministry said three police officers were injured.

    Independent news organisation OC Media said its journalist and co-director Mariam Nikuradze was hit with "what appeared to be pepper spray mixed in with … the water cannons".

    She sought medical attention, it said, adding the incident came after Nikuradze captured the moment a camera operator for TV Pirveli fell to the ground as police charged the crowd.

    Later it reported riot police fired tear gas at its editor-in-chief Robin Fabbro who was wearing "a vest that clearly stated he was a member of the press".

    Online publication Publika said its journalist Aleksandre Keshelashvili "was beaten and arrested while covering the protest".

    "He was taken to the police station and released after a few hours with a handwritten note. He has a broken nose and is being taken to the hospital," it said in a post on X.

    Police have also arrested some protesters.

    EU application shelved

    Georgia's relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the government had resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted pro-Russian stands.

    Thousands of pro-EU protesters had blocked streets in the capital before the altercations began. The country's figurehead president accused the government of declaring "war" on its own people and confronted riot police, asking whether they served Georgia or Russia.

    The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of "a cascade of insults", saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to "blackmail" the country, and to "organise a revolution in the country".

    As a result, it said: "We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028."

    The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union's successor states.

    With months of downturn in relations between Tbilisi and Brussels, the EU had already said that Georgia's application for membership was frozen.

    Georgian Dream says it is not pro-Russian, and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.

    It says it still wants to join the EU eventually, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, whilst deepening ties with neighbouring Russia.

    There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream's statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday's move was huge, adding the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.

    Opinion polls show that around 80 per cent of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc's flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.

    The pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream's announcement with fury as protesters massed. Local media reported that protests erupted in provincial cities.

    'War' against people

    Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: "The self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people."

    President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling party had "declared not peace, but war against its own people, its past and future".

    Zourabichvili's term ends in December, and Georgian Dream has nominated a former lawmaker with hardline anti-Western views to replace her.

    The opposition says that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54 per cent of the vote, was fraudulent and have refused to take their seats. Western countries demand a probe into irregularities.

    Both Georgian Dream and the country's election commission say the election was free and fair.

    Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia's economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.

    The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but has said that a raft of laws passed since by Georgian Dream, including curbs on "foreign agents" and LGBT rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.

    Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back towards Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.

    Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since Moscow won a brief 2008 war, but have had a limited rapprochement recently.

    Opinion polls show most Georgians dislike Russia, which continues to back two breakaway Georgian regions.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, praised the "courage and character" he said Georgian authorities had shown in passing the law on foreign agents, which domestic critics have likened to Russian legislation.

    Reuters/ABC


    ABC




    © 2024 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other International News
     27 Dec: Two Australians reportedly injured after New York taxi veers into pedestrians on Christmas day
     26 Dec: Prayers and tears mark 20 years since Boxing Day tsunami that claimed 230,000 lives
     26 Dec: Ash Barty and husband Garry Kissick announce second pregnancy on Christmas Day
     26 Dec: Passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in Kazakhstan with 67 people on board
     26 Dec: Russia says it's looking into footage of Australian Oscar Jenkins captured in Ukraine
     26 Dec: King Charles' Christmas Day message thanks healthcare staff after year of cancer treatment
     26 Dec: The best music stories of 2024 from the worlds of classical and jazz
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    A return to a Kiwi Christmas of sorts for new Crusader James O'Connor More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Scheduled OCR decisions are taking a break over summer, but the Reserve Bank is keeping busy More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    Scheduled OCR decisions are taking a break over summer, but the Reserve Bank is keeping busy 7:07

    Law and Order:
    Two Australians reportedly injured after New York taxi veers into pedestrians on Christmas day 7:07

    Accident and Emergency:
    Iwi have placed a rahui on Ohope in Whakatane - where a man's been missing since 6pm on Christmas Day 6:47

    Accident and Emergency:
    Two boaties had to be winched from a Fiordland river after a Christmas Day boat ride almost turned deadly 21:57

    Boxing:
    Prayers and tears mark 20 years since Boxing Day tsunami that claimed 230,000 lives 20:17

    Environment:
    The gun has been fired under clear skies for the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race 18:57

    Soccer:
    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes a lack of pre-season training is the major reason his team has been decimated by injury 18:37

    Cricket:
    The spirit of Christmas has done nothing to improve Virat Kohli's temper 18:07

    Law and Order:
    Friends and family of a man who swam away from police during a chase have gathered near the Port Ohope wharf waiting for news of their missing loved one 17:27

    Soccer:
    Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou Ange Postecoglou denies he's an angry man, but is keen for the media to stop asking him the same questions ad nauseam 17:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2024 New Zealand City Ltd