Police in Georgia fired tear gas and water cannon Sunday on a fourth straight day of pro-EU protests that drew tens of thousands of people, as the prime minister rebuffed calls for new elections.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October 26 parliamentary polls that the pro-European opposition said were fraudulent.
The turmoil has deepened since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Thursday that Georgia was shelving accession talks with the European Union until 2028, sparking a wave of protests in the capital, Tbilisi, and other cities.
The opposition is boycotting the new parliament, while pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili has asked the constitutional court to annul the election result, declaring the new legislature and government “illegitimate”.
Critics accuse Georgian Dream, in power for more than a decade, of having steered the country away from the European Union in recent years and of moving closer to Russia, an accusation it denies.
The interior ministry has said about 150 demonstrators have been arrested in this latest protest wave, while the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association put the number at 200.
Police in some instances have chased protesters through the streets, beating them and firing rubber bullets and tear gas.
Waving European and Georgian flags, tens of thousands rallied outside parliament on Sunday evening, AFP reporters saw.
Some demonstrators tossed fireworks and stones at riot police, while others banged on the metal door blocking parliament’s entrance.
– ‘Not my government’ –
Police later fired water cannon, but were unable to disperse the crowds.
Late at night, riot police in full gear moved in, using tear gas and water cannon to disperse the rally.
Shouting “Fuck Russia”, protesters built barricades from dustbins and set them ablaze.
Nearby, priests offered shelter to some protesters inside a church.
The leader of the opposition United National Movement party, Levan Khabeishvili, told journalists that he was attacked by around 15 masked police officers attempting to detain him, but said he had managed to escape with the help of protesters.
“Georgian Dream… is a (pro-) Russian government, and they must go,” demonstrator Alexandre Diasamidze, a 32-year-old bartender, told AFP.
Another protest took place outside the offices of Georgia’s Public Broadcaster (GPB), widely accused of acting as a propaganda tool for the ruling party.
The broadcaster conceded to the protesters’ demand to grant Zurabishvili airtime, which it had previously denied her.
Simultaneous protests took place in cities across Georgia.
Fuelling popular anger, Kobakhidze ruled out new parliamentary elections, saying that “the formation of the new government based on the October 26 parliamentary elections has been completed”.
Earlier this week, the party nominated far-right former football international Mikheil Kavelashvili for the largely ceremonial post of president.
But Zurabishvili told AFP in an exclusive interview on Saturday that she would not step down until last month’s contested parliamentary elections are re-run.
– ‘Only legitimate institution’ –
Brussels has not recognised the outcome of the October elections, and demanded an investigation into “serious electoral irregularities”.
The European Parliament has called for a re-run and for sanctions against top Georgian officials, including Kobakhidze.
Zurabishvili on Saturday said that she was “the only legitimate institution in the country”, and that “as long as there are no new elections… my mandate continues”.
Constitutional law experts have questioned the legitimacy of the new parliament, citing the fact it approved its own credentials in violation of a requirement to await a court ruling on Zurabishvili’s bid to annul the election results.
Hundreds of public servants, including from the ministries of foreign affairs, defence and education, as well as a number of judges, issued joint statements protesting Kobakhidze’s decision to postpone EU accession talks.
More than 200 Georgian diplomats criticised the move as contradicting the constitution and leading the country “into international isolation”.
A number of Georgia’s ambassadors resigned, while around 100 schools and universities suspended academic activities in protest.
The crackdown on protests has provoked international condemnation.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania jointly agreed to impose sanctions “against those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia”, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on social media.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Saturday condemned “excessive force” used on protestors.
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