**Police Crack Down on Peaceful Protesters in Tbilisi**
On November 19, police used force to break up a protest near Tbilisi State University. The peaceful demonstration had been going on for two days, with students and others camping out on the university grounds.
Many protesters were physically hurt and at least 11 people were arrested, including a cameraman from Mtavari TV. Some of those arrested were later released, but not before being detained for several hours.
**Video Shows Police Tactics**
A video has emerged that shows police entering the Tbilisi State University grounds just before breaking up the protest. The footage suggests that police may have used the university as a way to sneak up on protesters and then attack them.
The public is outraged by this tactic, but officials from the university have remained silent.
**Public Defender Condemns Police Actions**
The Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, has spoken out against the police actions. He said that the protest was peaceful and that there may have been improper treatment or excessive use of force by the police.
**Civil Society Organizations React**
Several civil society organizations have condemned the police crackdown on protesters. They are calling for an end to the violence and for law enforcement agencies to respect the rights of citizens to freedom of expression.
Despite the violent crackdown, more people returned to the protest site on Tuesday evening and continued to block intersections in central Tbilisi.
**Abkhazia News**
In other news, the de facto president of Abkhazia has resigned after opposition protesters stormed government buildings. The protesters were objecting to a deal that gave Russian businesses major tax breaks.
President Salome Zurabishvili has praised the bravery of Ukrainian people in their fight against Russian aggression and expressed solidarity with those in occupied Abkhazia who are resisting Russian efforts to annex them.
**Incident Prevention Meeting**
A meeting was held on November 19 between Georgian authorities and representatives of the occupying forces. The main issues discussed were the release of Georgian citizens being held by the occupying forces, as well as concerns about “borderization”.
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