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Georgia's prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has unveiled a comprehensive suppression on dissent, accusing demonstrators who attempted to storm the official residence of aiming to overthrow his government and pointing the finger at the European Union for meddling in the country's internal matters.

Kobakhidze made these allegations just a day following protesters tried to enter the presidential building during local elections. Riot police stopped them by using irritant spray and water jets.

"Not a single person will avoid responsibility. This encompasses political responsibility," the prime minister was reported to state.

Officers arrested at least five protesters, among them two members of the United National Movement and the opera singer turned campaigner Paata Burchuladze.

Local media reported the ministry of health as stating that twenty-one police officers and 6 demonstrators had been injured in confrontations in the heart of the capital.

Background of the Political Unrest

The nation of Georgia has been in upheaval since Kobakhidze's governing Georgian Dream party declared win in last year's parliamentary election, which the pro-EU opposition asserts was rigged. Since then, Tbilisi's talks on entering the European Union have been halted.

The premier stated that up to seven thousand people participated in the weekend's opposition rally but their "attempt to topple the government" had been thwarted despite what he described as support from the European Union.

"A number of people have already been arrested – first and foremost the organisers of the attempted coup," he told reporters, stating that the primary opposition group "will be barred from being active in Georgian politics."

Opposition Appeals and Administration Reaction

Opposition figures had called for a "peaceful revolution" against GD, which they accuse of being pro-Russian and authoritarian. The party has been in power since 2012.

A large crowd of demonstrators gathered in the heart of the capital, waving Georgian and EU flags, after an extended period of targeted operations on independent media, restrictions on civil society and the arrest of dozens of opponents and activists.

Kobakhidze accused the EU's ambassador to the country, Paweł Herczyński, of meddling. "You know that specific people from overseas have publicly stated explicit backing for all this, for the announced attempt to disrupt the legal government," he remarked, adding that the ambassador "holds particular accountability in this context."

"[Herczyński] should speak out, dissociate himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the streets of Tbilisi," stated Kobakhidze.

EU Position and Ongoing Geopolitical Strain

In the summer, the EU's diplomatic service dismissed what it termed "disinformation and unfounded claims" about the EU's alleged role in the nation.

The pro-western opposition have been organizing demonstrations since last October, when GD won a national vote that its opponents claim was marred by fraud. The party has rejected allegations of vote-rigging.

Georgia has the objective of joining the European Union enshrined in its founding document and has long been among the most Europe-oriented of the Soviet Union's successor states. Its relations with the west have been under pressure since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Georgian Dream is directed by its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the wealthiest individual and a ex-leader, and denies it is aligned with Russia. It says it wants to join the European Union while preserving peace with Russia.