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The nation's prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced a comprehensive suppression on dissent, accusing protesters who attempted to storm the official residence of seeking to topple his government and blaming the EU for interference in Georgia's internal matters.

The prime minister made these allegations just a day following demonstrators tried to enter the presidential palace during municipal polls. Security forces halted their advance by employing irritant spray and water jets.

"No one will escape accountability. This includes political responsibility," Kobakhidze was quoted as saying.

Officers detained at least several protesters, including representatives of the United National Movement and the opera singer turned activist Paata Burchuladze.

Local media cited the health ministry as stating that twenty-one members of the security forces and six protesters had been hurt in clashes in central Tbilisi.

Context of the Political Unrest

The South Caucasus country has been in turmoil since the prime minister's ruling Georgian Dream party declared win in last year's parliamentary election, which the European-leaning opposition asserts was stolen. From that point, Georgia's talks on entering the bloc have been frozen.

The premier stated that up to seven thousand people participated in Saturday's protest gathering but their "effort to topple the constitutional order" had been prevented despite what he described as support from the European Union.

"A number of people have already been arrested – primarily the organisers of the attempted overthrow," he informed the press, stating that the primary opposition group "will no longer be allowed from operating in Georgian politics."

Protest Movement Appeals and Administration Response

Protest leaders had urged a "peaceful revolution" against Georgian Dream, which they allege of being aligned with Moscow and dictatorial. The political group has been in control since 2012.

Thousands of protesters assembled in the center of the city, waving national and European flags, after an extended period of targeted operations on independent media, restrictions on non-governmental groups and the detention of many of critics and activists.

The prime minister blamed the European Union's representative to the country, Paweł Herczyński, of meddling. "You know that certain individuals from abroad have publicly stated direct support for all this, for the declared effort to overthrow the legal government," he said, adding that the ambassador "bears special responsibility in this situation."

"[Herczyński] should speak out, distance himself and strongly denounce everything that is occurring on the streets of Tbilisi," stated the prime minister.

European Union Position and Ongoing Geopolitical Strain

In July, the EU's diplomatic service rejected what it termed "false information and baseless accusations" about the Union's supposed involvement in the nation.

The pro-western opposition have been staging protests since the previous autumn, when Georgian Dream secured victory in a parliamentary election that its critics say was tainted by irregularities. The ruling group has denied accusations of vote-rigging.

Georgia has the objective of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been one of the most pro-western of the former Soviet republics. Its ties with the west have been under pressure since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

GD is directed by its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country's richest man and a former prime minister, and rejects it is aligned with Russia. It says it wants to join the European Union while maintaining stability with Russia.