Georgia PM says storming of presidential palace aimed at overthrowing gov’t

Georgia’s prime minister says protesters who tried to storm the presidential palace were trying to overthrow the government as he accuses the European Union of meddling in his country’s politics.

Irakli Kobakhidze said on Sunday that the demonstrators aimed to “overthrow the constitutional order” and added that EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski, whom he accused of supporting the rally, bore “special responsibility” and called on him to “distance himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the streets of Tbilisi”, the Georgian news agency Interpress reported.

Georgian riot police used pepper spray and water cannon on Saturday to drive demonstrators away from the presidential palace in Tbilisi’s city centre and detained five activists as the opposition staged a large demonstration on a day of local elections.

Georgia’s Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs said 21 security personnel and six protesters were injured in the confrontations, according to local media.

Kobakhidze said nearly 7,000 people participated in the protest in the capital of the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people.

“They moved to action, began the overthrow attempt. It failed, and then they started distancing themselves from it,” Kobakhidze said. “No one will escape responsibility. This includes political responsibility.”

The protests erupted as the ruling Georgian Dream party, which critics said is close to Russia, won majorities in all municipalities, claiming 80 percent of the vote. Former AC Milan footballer Kakha Kaladze retained the mayorship of the capital city.

Opposition groups boycotted the poll and rallied supporters for a “peaceful revolution” against the Georgian Dream party. Thousands massed in Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi, waving Georgian and EU flags in what organisers characterised as an act of resistance, before some protesters blocked adjacent streets, started fires and confronted the riot police.

Senior Georgian Dream party officials have repeatedly denied Kremlin links. In an opinion piece for Euronews last week, Kobakhidze said the country’s aspiration to join the EU was “steady and irreversible”.