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The nation's prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has unveiled a comprehensive crackdown on dissent, accusing demonstrators who tried to breach the official residence of aiming to overthrow his government and pointing the finger at the EU for interference in Georgia's internal matters.

Kobakhidze leveled these accusations just a day after protesters tried to enter the presidential palace during municipal polls. Security forces stopped them by using pepper spray and water jets.

"No one will escape responsibility. This includes political responsibility," the prime minister was quoted as saying.

Officers arrested at least several demonstrators, among them representatives of the United National Movement and the vocal artist turned campaigner Paata Burchuladze.

Domestic news outlets cited the health ministry as stating that twenty-one members of the security forces and six protesters had been hurt in confrontations in central Tbilisi.

Context of the Political Crisis

The nation of Georgia has been in upheaval since Kobakhidze's ruling Georgian Dream party declared win in last year's general election, which the pro-EU opposition claims was rigged. From that point, Tbilisi's negotiations on joining the bloc have been halted.

Kobakhidze said that up to seven thousand people participated in Saturday's opposition rally but their "effort to topple the constitutional order" had been thwarted despite what he described as support from the European Union.

"A number of people have already been arrested – primarily the leaders of the attempted coup," he told reporters, adding that the primary opposition group "will be barred from being active in Georgian politics."

Opposition Appeals and Government Response

Protest leaders had called for a "non-violent uprising" against Georgian Dream, which they accuse of being pro-Russian and dictatorial. The political group has been in power since 2012.

A large crowd of demonstrators gathered in the center of the capital, displaying national and European flags, after an extended period of targeted operations on independent media, limitations on non-governmental groups and the arrest of many of opponents and activists.

Kobakhidze accused the European Union's representative to the country, Paweł Herczyński, of meddling. "You know that specific people from abroad have even expressed explicit backing for these actions, for the announced attempt to disrupt the legal government," he remarked, adding that the ambassador "bears special responsibility in this situation."

"The ambassador should come out, dissociate himself and strongly denounce everything that is occurring on the streets of Tbilisi," said Kobakhidze.

EU Position and Ongoing Geopolitical Strain

In July, the EU's diplomatic service rejected what it termed "false information and unfounded claims" about the Union's supposed involvement in Georgia.

The pro-European factions have been staging protests since the previous autumn, when Georgian Dream secured victory in a national vote that its critics say was tainted by irregularities. The party has rejected allegations of electoral manipulation.

The country has the goal of joining the European Union enshrined in its constitution and has long been one of the most pro-western of the former Soviet republics. Its relations with the Western nations have been strained since Moscow's military offensive of Ukraine in 2022.

Georgian Dream is directed by its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the wealthiest individual and a former prime minister, and rejects it is pro-Moscow. It states it aims to join the EU while preserving peace with Moscow.