Fresh Rallies In Georgia After PM Said 'won Battle' With Pro-EU Protesters

Tbilisi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Dec, 2024) Thousands of defiant pro-EU protesters in Georgia staged a fresh rally Friday after the prime minister claimed victory in a "battle" against the opposition, amid a deepening post-electoral crisis.

Tbilisi has been engulfed in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party declared that it had won a disputed October 26 election.

The party's critics have accused it of creeping authoritarianism and of steering the country back towards Russia.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets since the election to protest against alleged electoral fraud.

Fresh rallies took place across the country after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced last week that Georgia would not hold talks on European Union membership until 2028.

Police have fired tear gas and water cannon against pro-EU protests in Tbilisi and hundreds of arrests have been made, triggering outrage at home and mounting international condemnation.

France, Germany and Poland condemned what they called the government's "disproportionate" use of force against protesters and opposition leaders in a joint statement by their foreign ministers Friday.

- 'Fighting for our freedom' -

Several thousand people blocked the street outside parliament for a ninth consecutive night Friday, some blowing whistles and others setting off firecrackers.

The crowd was smaller than on previous nights and the mood quieter, but protesters rejected claims the movement was dying out.

"We are fighting for our freedom," said Nana, 18, a medical student, wrapped in an EU flag, accompanied by a friend in a matching Georgian flag. "We are not going to give up."

Another protester, 35-year-old academic Alexander Kavtaradze, said: "It's a battle of nerves right now. The illegitimate government is hoping we'll get tired, that fewer people will come out each day.

"We will continue our fight until the end."

Separate protests were held outside Georgia's Public Broadcaster -- accused of serving as a government propaganda tool -- the education ministry, and the country's tourism administration offices.

Shalva Alaverdashvili, founder of the Georgian hotels' federation, told AFP that the "unexpected and unacceptable" suspension of EU accession talks has severely hit the country's tourism industry, which accounts for seven percent of the country's GDP.

Thousands have also staged anti-government rallies in the second city of Batumi on the Black Sea coast.

On Friday evening, a court in Tbilisi put a 19-year-old youth activist in pre-trial detention. Zviad Tsetskhladze had been arrested during the protests on charges of "organising, leading, and participating in group violence".

Tsetskhladze told the judge: "Democracy in Georgia is no more. The rule of law has been crushed.

"Our actions are a form of resistance, aimed at preserving the rule of law, defending democracy, and protecting the rights of every individual."