Protesters blocked Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi in front of the parliament building on Thursday, Georgian media reported.
Tbilisi is hosting the 21st day of opposition protests. On Thursday, athletes and representatives of medical fields joined the main rally in front of the parliament. People headed in a procession to the parliament, having previously gathered at different locations in the capital.
The protesters are against the Georgian authorities’ suspension of negotiations with the European Union on the country’s accession to the association. The protest involves writers, publishers, book designers and other employees of publishing houses.
Protesters have started using fireworks against the police.
Zurab Japaridze, a Georgian opposition activist and head of the Girchi – More Freedom party, threatened the country’s citizens who ignore the protests. He said:
“We will not forget the silence of each of you. Those who are silent today know very well where this country is going. But you are waiting for the regime’s victory and preparing to become part of the oppressors‘ elite.”
Japaridze also called citizens who refuse to participate in the protests “rotten opportunists.”
On December 15, creative youth and fans of Spanish football clubs were seen at a rally in the Georgian capital. The protest action was controlled by police officers. Earlier, protesters in Tbilisi demanded to show the diploma of the only presidential candidate Mikheil Kavelashvili, who won the election.
Since November 28, protests have been held in Tbilisi and other Georgian cities after the authorities announced that they would suspend negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union until 2028. According to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the decision was dictated by the unacceptable actions of European politicians who, as he put it, use grants and loans as an instrument of blackmail.
