Thousands of Georgians protest against the government again (archive photo)
Keystone
In Georgia, four months after the start of protests against the pro-Russian government, thousands of people once again took to the streets on Monday evening in favor of closer ties with the EU.
In the capital Tbilisi alone, around 4,000 people protested on one of the central streets. The demonstrations took place for the 124th day in a row. After the number of participants in the protests had recently fallen significantly, a particularly large number of people took part again on Monday. The reason for this was the 34th anniversary of the referendum in which the inhabitants of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia voted in favor of independence in March 1991.
Former president spoke to demonstrators
Former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who was replaced by the government-backed Mikheil Kavelashvili at the end of last year after controversial elections, spoke to the demonstrators on Monday. “We will free Georgia from the clutches of Russia and its puppets. The struggle continues,” said Zurabishvili. Ahead of the Georgians lies “a long, non-violent struggle” with the goal of free elections and the release of “political prisoners”.
At the end of November, the Georgian government announced that it would suspend accession negotiations with the EU until 2028. Since then, there have been mass protests in the country. The police have taken violent action against demonstrators and hundreds of people have been arrested.