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Georgia's leader, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced a broad crackdown on political opposition, alleging demonstrators who attempted to storm the presidential palace of seeking to topple his government and blaming the European Union for meddling in the country's affairs.

Kobakhidze made these allegations just a day following demonstrators tried to enter the presidential building during municipal polls. Security forces stopped them by employing pepper spray and water jets.

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

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

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

Context of the Political Crisis

The nation of Georgia has been in turmoil since the prime minister's governing GD party declared win in the previous year's general election, which the pro-EU opposition asserts was stolen. From that point, Tbilisi's negotiations on entering the bloc have been frozen.

Kobakhidze stated that up to seven thousand people participated in Saturday's protest gathering but their "effort to topple the government" had been prevented despite what he called EU backing.

"A number of people have been detained – first and foremost the organisers of the attempted coup," he told the press, stating that the country's main opposition force "will no longer be allowed from operating in the nation's political scene."

Protest Movement Appeals and Government Reaction

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

A large crowd of protesters assembled in the center of the capital, displaying national and European flags, after an extended period of targeted operations on independent media, limitations on civil society and the arrest of many of opponents and campaigners.

The prime minister blamed the European Union's representative to the country, Paweł Herczyński, of meddling. "You know that certain individuals from overseas have publicly stated direct support for these actions, for the announced attempt to disrupt the legal government," he said, adding that the ambassador "holds particular accountability in this situation."

"[Herczyński] should speak out, distance himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the city's avenues," stated Kobakhidze.

European Union Response and Ongoing Geopolitical Strain

In July, the EU's diplomatic service rejected what it called "disinformation and unfounded claims" about the EU's alleged role in Georgia.

The pro-western opposition have been staging protests since the previous autumn, when Georgian Dream won a national vote that its critics say was marred by fraud. The ruling group has rejected accusations of electoral manipulation.

The country has the objective of EU accession written into its founding document and has long been among the most Europe-oriented of the former Soviet republics. Its relations with the Western nations have been strained since Russia's full-scale invasion 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 says it aims to enter the European Union while maintaining peace with Moscow.