Thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for the 10th day of rallies sparked by the government’s decision to shelve EU accession talks following a disputed election.
Georgian police said they arrested 48 people during a crackdown on pro-EU protesters the day before.
Security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse the thousands of people who had gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi on Friday evening to demand fresh elections and a return to European integration.
The Caucasus nation has been engulfed in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party declared that it won a disputed October 26 election.
The government, which critics accuse of creeping authoritarianism and of steering the country back towards Russia, last week said it would suspend talks to join the European Union, sparking a fresh wave of demonstrations.
Blowing horns and whistles, pro-European protesters marched from Tbilisi State University towards parliament for a new night of demos, blocking one of the city’s main traffic arteries, an AFP reporter witnessed.
“They are trying to arrest us, punish us, but we won’t back down, we are not afraid,” said 19-year-old protester Giorgi Romanadze.
“This is our last chance to be free, to be happy. We want Europe, and Europe only.”
Natia Trapaidze, a 55-year-old designer, said she was not typically politically active, but the authorities had “forced” her to take to the streets.
“I don’t feel protected, I have no rights in this country,” she said, adding that she feared for the future of her two daughters.
Authorities’ heavy-handed response has triggered outrage at home and mounting international condemnation.
Hundreds of arrests have been made. The country’s rights ombudsman has accused the police of “torture” against those detained, with scores reporting mistreatment or showing visible injuries.
Friday night’s demonstration had been largely peaceful until riot police moved in to clear the area, AFP reporters saw. Scuffles ensued, with police making arrests and protesters launching fireworks at security forces.
The interior ministry said authorities dispersed the crowd after the “actions of some of the people at the protest took on a violent character”, with some verbally abusing police officers and throwing stones at them.
One policeman was injured by a firework, it added.
Rights ombudsman Levan Ioseliani said police “had no legal grounds for the dispersal of a peaceful rally”.
After the crackdown, smaller groups of demonstrators marched through the streets of the capital and blocked traffic on a central road, with police chasing after them and snatching some protesters.
– Long fight –
With both sides ruling out a compromise, there appeared to be no clear route out of the crisis.
The United States, France and Germany are among the Western countries to have denounced the crackdown on protests.
But the government has refused to back down.
Before Friday’s rally, the prime minister had praised his security forces for “successfully neutralising the protesters’ capacity for violence”, after several opposition party offices were raided and opposition leaders arrested.
“We have won an important battle against liberal fascism in our country,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a news conference, using language reminiscent of how the Kremlin in Russia targets its political opponents.
Yet demonstrators remained defiant and rejected Kobakhidze’s characterisation of the protest movement.
Thousands have also protested in the second city of Batumi, on the Black Sea coast.
“People are ready to fight for as long as it takes,” said Adi, 37, a winemaker, protesting in the capital.
Critics of Georgian Dream are enraged by what they call its betrayal of the country’s bid for EU membership, enshrined in the constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.
Several ambassadors, a deputy foreign minister and other officials have resigned over the suspension of EU talks.
Georgian Dream, in power for more than a decade, has advanced controversial legislation in recent years, targeting civil society and independent media and curbing LGBTQ rights.
Brussels warned such policies were incompatible with EU membership, while domestic critics accuse the government of copying Russia’s playbook.
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