A Dream, Deferred

Protests continued this week in Georgia against the government’s move to delay the country’s longstanding bid to join the European Union, with more than 400 arrested over the past few weeks including a key opposition leader, Reuters reported.

Around 30 of those arrested face criminal charges for being part of “group violence” aimed at overthrowing the government.

The arrests are seen as an attempt to quash the wave of mass protests in the capital Tbilisi which were sparked by the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to halt talks on joining the EU until 2028.

Last week, Georgian opposition leader Nika Gvaramia was arrested along with other members of the opposition party when their offices were raided by Georgian police. The Coalition for Change opposition party said that Gvaramia had been “thrown into a detention car as he was physically assaulted and unconscious,” according to the Guardian.

At times, the protests have turned violent with demonstrators throwing firecrackers at police officers and building barricades on the central boulevard of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Demonstrators say they were forced to defend themselves against riot police wielding tear gas, water cannons, and batons.

The interior ministry said that more than 150 police officers have been injured, reported Reuters.

In October, the Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections, with the opposition saying the election was marked by irregularities and fraud. The win, meanwhile, has provoked widespread anger because of the party’s pro-Russia stance and increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

Party officials, meanwhile, say they must defer any EU talks and cozy up to Russia, to safeguard peace amid the war in Ukraine.

Previously, Georgia had been seen as among the most pro-Western and democratic of the former Soviet Union states. Rights groups have said that the violent crackdown on protests is without recent precedent in the country, with Western governments condemning the government. The EU’s ambassador to Georgia has said that the crackdown merits sanctions.

Especially concerning Western governments are reports of gangs of masked men in black attacking opposition politicians, activists, and journalists over the past few days. Koba Hazabi, a prominent member of the Coalition for Change opposition party, was attacked inside his party’s headquarters and left with extensive head injuries.

“Of course, the government is behind this,” Khabazi told Reuters following the attack. “This government is built on violence.”

Georgian authorities deny their involvement, saying the attacks were likely carried out by the opposition themselves to make Georgia Dream look bad.