Several thousand protesters rallied late today for another night in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, building barricades, breaking windows and setting off fireworks outside parliament, in another night of anti-government protests that have halted the country’s EU membership talks. Join.

The police responded by firing tear gas and water into the gathered crowd.

Today’s protests were by far the largest since the ruling party was re-elected last month in an election the pro-European opposition has accused of irregularities.

Protesters burned an effigy of Georgia’s richest man, the founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, on the steps of parliament.

Georgian media reported other protests in towns and cities across the country.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Irakli Kombahicze accused the pro-EU opposition of plotting a rebellion. The State Security Service stressed that political parties are attempting to “overthrow the government by force”.

This Caucasus country, which is used to political crises, faces another one after parliamentary elections on October 26, which were won by the ruling Georgian Dream. Georgian Dream and its government are accused by political opponents of pushing the former Soviet republic away from EU membership and instead seeking a rapprochement with Moscow. Many Georgians, however, see Russia, which invaded Georgia in 2008, as a threat to their country.

The political crisis escalated on Thursday when the government announced it was suspending EU accession talks for the next four years. He accused the EU of blackmailing Georgia.

Georgia was granted candidate status in December 2023 but then Brussels froze the process, accusing the government of a serious setback to democracy.

This afternoon, the country’s president Salome Zourabisvili, who opposes the government and supports EU membership but whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said she would not step down when her term ends in December, saying parliament has no legitimacy and no power to appoint her successor. Zurabishvili stated that the presidency remains the only legitimate institution in the country.

Prime Minister Kobachidze accused opponents of halting EU membership talks of plotting an uprising, similar to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protest that led to the ouster of a pro-Russian president. “Some want this scenario to be repeated in Georgia. But there will be no Maidan in Georgia,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Georgian media reported that the country’s top diplomats in the US, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania resigned in protest at the breakdown of talks with the EU.

Over 200 serving diplomats signed an open letter condemning the government’s stance. Hundreds of employees in Georgia’s defense, justice and education ministries, as well as the Central Bank, also signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze EU accession talks. More than a hundred schools and universities suspended their activities in protest.

The Interior Ministry announced that it had arrested 107 people in Tbilisi during protests last night. The 107 arrested were detained for “disobeying police orders” and “hooliganism” during the demonstration last night, the interior ministry said.

Footage of security forces violently arresting protesters was widely circulated today. Georgia’s ombudsman said police “brutality” against protesters was “alarming.”

The Council of Europe condemned the “violent suppression of demonstrations” and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) denounced the “disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force” by the police. The US also condemned “excessive use of force by police” in the protests and announced it was suspending a cooperation program with Georgia. Yesterday, France had called for “respect for the right to peaceful demonstration”.

Major businesses including London-listed banks TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia have said they support EU membership. The country’s powerful Orthodox Church issued a statement condemning the violence at the protests.

Also, Khvitsa Kvaratshelia, star of the Georgian national football team who plays for the Napoli football club in the Italian league, spoke out in support of the protesters. “My country is hurting, my people are hurting – it’s painful and heartbreaking to see the videos that are going around, stop the violence and aggression! Georgia deserves to be Europe today more than ever!” Kvaratshelia wrote on Facebook today.