Georgia protests: President says government ‘not legitimate’ as thousands take to streets for third night
Georgia’s president has said the Caucasian country’s government is “not legitimate” as thousands of protesters gathered again in the capital after a halt to EU membership talks.
The US State Department condemned the “excessive force” used against demonstrators and suspended its strategic partnership with the country after more than 100 arrests were made on Friday.
Georgia was thrown into crisis on Thursday after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that talks on Georgia’s EU membership bid will now be delayed until 2028.
Joining the EU is overwhelmingly popular in Georgia, according to opinion polls, and the aim is enshrined in the country’s constitution.
But Mr Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream party has been accused of becoming ever-more authoritarian, opting for improved relations with Russia over the EU.
The freezing of application talks triggered large protests, with 107 people arrested at demonstrations across the country on Friday night following similar clashes on with police on Thursday.
Violence unfolded in the capital Tbilisi, the Black Sea port of Batumi and other cities, with police using water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray to suppress protesters.
US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X on Saturday night: “We condemn excessive force used against Georgians rightfully protesting this betrayal of their constitution – EU is a bulwark against Kremlin.”
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Protesters have gathered for a third consecutive night of protests in the Georgian capital.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who has a mostly ceremonial role, said she would not leave office when her term ends next month in an address on Saturday.
She told Sky News’ Barbara Serra on Saturday: “They saw this election stolen from them and since then, there is no recognition of the legitimacy of the parliament, where no opposition party has entered.”
“It’s a one rule parliament, not legitimate, not recognised by our democracy partners.”
Read more: People worry about ending up like Ukraine
Fireworks explode as police and protesters clash in Tbilisi on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
She added: “The people on the streets, and that is democracy, are saying with their feet that they do not want to go back to Russia and that they want to consolidate what was their past for the last 30 years.”
Earlier, in a briefing reported on by Reuters, she said: “There is no legitimate parliament, and therefore, an illegitimate parliament cannot elect a new president. Thus, no inauguration can take place, and my mandate continues until a legitimately elected parliament is formed.”
Georgian flags in Tbilisi on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
The European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Georgia’s election last month, which it claimed was neither free nor fair.
Mr Kobakhidze’s party won almost 54% of votes, but opponents claim Russia helped rig the vote to halt the country’s move towards the West.
There were allegations of ballot box stuffing and intimidation – and civil servants being forced to vote for the status quo.
Thousands of protesters were again gathering in Tbilisi on Saturday – the third successive night of protests – amid a large presence of riot police, while hundreds of employees of Georgia’s foreign, defence, justice and education ministries, along with the country’s central bank having signed open letters condemning the decision to freeze talks.
Mr Kobakhidze accused opponents of the halt to EU accession over what his party called “blackmail” of Georgia by the bloc of plotting a revolution, along the lines of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protest, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
“In Georgia, the Maidan scenario cannot be realised. Georgia is a state, and the state will not, of course, permit this,” he was quoted as saying by local media.
Ms Zourabichvili said “the whole country is standing in protest” with the “enormous reaction” to the decision growing “every hour and every day” but that, while the demonstrators were “very determined” they were “peaceful”.
“People are deserting the different ministries, the diplomatic corps, people are resigning because they consider that they have been striving their whole life to get Georgia on this European track and that today what we’re seeing is a treason by people who are not elected and certainly not elected to change the path of Georgia,” she said.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada
John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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