LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A political crisis is deepening in the country of Georgia.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Yeah, for much of the past week, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets. At issue is a government decision to suspend membership talks with the European Union. And as a former Soviet state, some fear the country could be slipping back into Russia's orbit.
FADEL: NPR international correspondent Charles Maynes is on the line from Moscow, but recently returned from reporting in Georgia. Good morning, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what's the latest with the protests?
MAYNES: Well, it was another tense night in the capital, Tbilisi, but there seems to be a pattern emerging here. Every evening, mostly peaceful protesters, now in the tens of thousands, gather outside the parliament. And every evening we've seen heavy police presence disperse them using tear gas and water cannons. And also things then quickly devolve from there. There are these pitched battles we've seen between police and protesters, who've clearly come prepared. They're wearing gas masks. They are armed with pyrotechnics - in other words, fireworks - to fire back at the security forces. And there have been reports of injuries from both sides, including over 100 police. We don't have figures for protesters, but they're clearly far more. And at least 220 people have been arrested so far, amid some pretty aggressive policing.
FADEL: And just remind us how this started.
MAYNES: Well, you know, you mentioned the decision to suspend talks with the European Union. The government indeed said it won't engage with the EU until 2028. As to why this change - so the answer lies in recent parliamentary elections. An October vote saw the ruling Georgian Dream Party claim victory with some 54% of all ballots, a result that was certified by the election commission, by the way. And only the opposition argues those results were rigged. And as of last week, the European Parliament agreed. They're calling for a do-over. So all this has infuriated the Georgian Dream government but, of course, also galvanized supporters of the opposition. People like Bochum Tsikaladze, a sailor in the Georgian navy I met at an earlier rally - he told me he'd always hoped the crowds would come.
BOCHUM TSIKALADZE: They stole our voice. They stole our future. And we do not accept that. We'll stand here how long much it takes. I'll protect my country. I'll protect my voice. And I'll be glad if many, many people will join us.
FADEL: Was there a larger significance to the vote?
MAYNES: I think it's important to point out that even before these protests, this election was seen as a critical vote to get Georgia back on track with the EU and the West in general. Over the past year, Georgian Dream has embraced legislation and positions that really seem to echo Kremlin policies that have been used to crack down on freedoms here in Russia. For example, Georgia passed a foreign agents law that certainly mimics a Russian version that's been used to suppress civil society and that had already placed Georgia's relations with the EU in a deep freeze.
FADEL: And has that fed the impression of a Kremlin hand in a lot of this?
MAYNES: Well, clearly the opposition and, in particular, the country's pro-EU president, Salome Zourabichvili, think so. Whether or not that's true, they've amped these claims, in other words, to rally the West to their cause. I think to a degree, you could argue it's working. The U.S. froze a strategic partnership agreement it had with Georgia. Baltic countries - of course, these are also former Soviet republics - now they've imposed sanctions on Georgian Dream's leadership. But Georgian Dream is also digging in. The prime minister has vowed no negotiations with the opposition. And the government argues its problems with the West are really overhyped and temporary. They say things will change quickly once Donald Trump gets into office in January.
FADEL: That's NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thank you, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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