By Felix Light
TBILISI (Reuters) - Over 100 serving Georgian diplomats have signed an open letter criticising the new government's suspension of EU accession talks, a diplomat said on Friday, after a protest against the move led to overnight clashes on the capital's streets.
The diplomats said the decision, announced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on Thursday, violated the country's constitutional commitment to pursuing EU membership.
The European Union's ambassador to Georgia, in the first comments from Brussels, said Tbilisi's move to effectively halt its EU bid until 2028 was "heartbreaking".
He also condemned police violence against protesters at a pro-EU demonstration on Thursday night. Police used water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas against masked young protesters angry over the decision.
The interior ministry said on Friday that 43 people had been arrested. In a statement, it also said 32 police officers had been injured during the protest, which saw some demonstrators attempting to smash down metal barriers outside parliament.
Coalition for Change, the largest opposition party, said two of its female leaders had been attacked by police during the protest, with one suffering a broken hand and another a broken nose.
Nika Melia, a Coalition for Change leader, called for renewed protests on Friday.
"Today we have only one job - the service of the country, so that tomorrow we will have a country, and that our children will have a future," Melia wrote on Facebook (NASDAQ:META).
Three Tbilisi universities said they were suspending studies amid the unrest, while a group of business associations, including the U.S., EU, and German chambers of commerce said they opposed freezing talks in a joint statement.
European traders reacted to the news by selling off London-listed Georgian bank stocks. By 11.15 GMT, TBC Bank was down 6.1% at the bottom of the FTSE 350, while Bank of Georgia had lost 5.7%.
The dollar was on track for its biggest daily jump against the Georgian Lari since May, last up 1.62%.
Georgian Dream claimed victory in an October election with almost 54% of ballots cast, but opposition parties said the vote was fraudulent and refused to take their seats in parliament. Georgian Dream suspended the EU accession talks over what it called "blackmail" by Brussels.
DIPLOMATS PROTEST
President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, appealed on Thursday to Georgian diplomats to come out against the freezing of talks.
One diplomat told Reuters that more than 100 serving diplomats had signed the letter saying the move violated the country's constitutional commitment to pursuing EU membership.
Georgia's ambassador to South Korea, in a post on Facebook, appeared to suggest he opposed the accession freeze, while Tbilisi's envoy to Bulgaria said on X he had resigned over the suspension of talks.
Pawel Herczynski, the EU envoy to Tbilisi, described the decision to freeze the accession talks as "very regrettable" and "heartbreaking".
"What has happened yesterday clearly goes against the policy of the previous government of Georgia, actually all previous governments of Georgia, it also goes against the will of the vast majority of the population of Georgia," he said.
He also deplored police violence against the protesters.
Local media quoted Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as accusing the EU envoy of "disinformation", and threatening a "diplomatic response".
Though Georgia is an EU candidate country, its relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid accusations from EU politicians that Tbilisi is pursuing pro-Russian and authoritarian policies.
The EU itself said earlier this year that Georgia's application had been frozen in response to new laws passed against "foreign agents" and LGBT rights that critics say are draconian and Moscow-inspired.
The government, which does not have diplomatic ties with Russia, said the laws were proportionate and needed to protect national security and society's traditional values.
Georgian Dream, which is seen as being controlled by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has moved in recent years to deepen ties with Russia and China.
The European Parliament voted on Thursday to withhold recognition of the October election, and called for sanctions on key Georgian Dream figures.