Sawt Falasteen - Georgian police stage new crackdown on pro-EU protestors

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in October parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition decried as falsified.

The government ignited another furious opposition reaction Thursday, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia will not seek to open EU accession talks with Brussels until 2028.

Authorities deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against thousands of pro-EU protestors.

Similar scenes unfolded on Friday night after large crowds again flocked to the parliament in Tbilisi to protest the government's decision.

AFP reporters saw masked police in riot gear deploy water cannon and tear gas on protesters who tossed eggs and fireworks.

- 'Authoritarian' -

In power for more than a decade, critics accuse Georgian Dream in recent years of having moved the country away from its Europe and closer to Russia.

Ahead of October elections it pushed through legislation targeting independent civil society and curbing LGBTQ rights, drawing warnings from Brussels.

"Georgian Dream's self-proclaimed government is doing everything it can to destroy Georgia's chances of joining the EU," said one demonstrator, 39-year-old schoolteacher Laura Kekelidze.

"They know their authoritarian rule is incompatible with EU membership," she told AFP. "But Georgians belong in Europe, and that's why we are out here in the streets today."

The former Soviet republic officially gained EU candidate status in December 2023, an aspiration that is supported by 80 percent of the population, according to polls.

But earlier this year Brussels froze Georgia's accession process, citing the need for Tbilisi to address what it says is democratic backsliding.

Opposition lawmakers have questioned the results of last month's parliamentary elections, which gave Georgian Dream a majority.

They are boycotting the new parliament, while Georgia's pro-EU president, Salome Zurabishvili, has sought to annul the election results through the country's constitutional court.

- 'Punitive attack' -

Protests were also held in other cities across Georgia on Friday, independent TV station, Mtavari, reported.

On Thursday, an AFP reporter saw riot police beating peaceful protesters and journalists at the demonstration.

The interior ministry said 32 of its staff were injured and "43 individuals were detained by law enforcement for disobeying lawful police orders and for petty hooliganism".

European nations and rights groups on Friday expressed concern over the policy shift and the crackdown.

"Police actions in Tbilisi mark another punitive attack on the right to peaceful assembly," Amnesty International said.

The rights watchdog denounced the government's determination to "suppress dissent through the unlawful use of force by the police."

Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania and Britain were among the countries to issue statements of concern.

The Council of Europe condemned what it described as the "brutal repression" of protesters, urging Georgia to remain "faithful to European values".

Prime Minister Kobakhidze accused the opposition and the EU ambassador to Georgia of distorting his statement and insisted that EU membership "by 2030" remains his "top priority."

Georgian Dream MPs voted unanimously Thursday for Kobakhidze to continue as prime minister.

Constitutional law experts say both the parliament and the government are facing a serious legitimacy crisis following the election.

One author of Georgia's constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze, told AFP that any decisions made by the new parliament -- including Kobakhidze's nomination -- are invalid, because it approved its own credentials in violation of a legal requirement to await a court ruling on Zurabishvili's bid to annul the election results.

Georgian Dream is seeking to replace Zurabishvili in the largely ceremonial role of president before the end of the year.

On Wednesday, it nominated far-right politician and former international footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili for the post, further ratcheting up tensions.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST