Protests organized by opposition in Georgia against Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s government’s decision to suspend EU candidacy negotiations until 2028 continue on the second day. Protesters gathered in front of the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi and targeted its iron barricades with rocks and threw fireworks and foreign objects at security forces, which was responded to by police with water cannons and tear gas. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that 107 people were detained.
“We will be here every night until we get tired. This is our country. We have only one country. We will fight for Europe,” Nika Gvaramia, the leader of Georgia’s largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change, said during the protest.
Another coalition leader, Elene Khoshtaria, said, “We will not surrender; we will not give up. But I think the international community should think about how to support people who truly believe in European values.”