Sawt Falasteen - Georgians hold anti-government protest on Orthodox Christmas

Mass protests have shaken the Caucasus country since November 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the government would not pursue the launch of European Union membership talks until 2028.

On Monday evening, protesters, some carrying Georgian and EU flags, came together to celebrate Orthodox Christmas at a church opposite the parliament building in the centre of Tbilisi.

Most Georgians are Orthodox Christians and the Church celebrates Christmas Day on January 7 according to the old Julian calendar.

Protesters chanted "Georgia!" and repeated demands for the release of detained demonstrators and for a fresh general election.

The governing Georgian Dream party won an October vote that the opposition has denounced as rigged.

"For Christmas, I pray that all political prisoners held by the government for expressing their opinions will soon be released," said 56-year-old protester, Irina Sartania.

Marchers set off from five different Orthodox churches in Tbilisi and converged at the central church, where they were joined by more demonstrators.

Pro-European former president Salome Zurabishvili, who repeatedly clashed with Georgian Dream during her tenure, joined them.

"We must guide this country back to its proper direction. We cannot fail to win," Zurabishvili told AFP.

She was elected head of state by popular vote in 2018.

Her term ended on December 29, when Georgian Dream loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili, a right-wing ex-footballer, was inaugurated as the next figurehead president following a controversial selection process.

Although Zurabishvili has departed the presidential palace, she insists she is the country's "only legitimate leader" amid the political crisis.

The Georgia Dream government faces accusations of an authoritarian, pro-Russian shift that has undermined Georgia's EU bid, a goal enshrined in the constitution and supported by 80 percent of the population.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST