Sawt Falasteen - Thousands defy Georgia government threats to stage new rally

The country of some 3.7 million has been rocked by demonstrations since the ruling Georgian Dream party announced last week it would halt EU accession talks.

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened Tuesday to punish political opponents, accusing them of being behind violence at mass protests.

Tensions were already high after October parliamentary elections that saw Georgian Dream return to power amid accusations that it rigged the vote.

But Kobakhidze's decision that Georgia would not hold EU membership talks until 2028 triggered uproar. Protesters gathered outside parliament for the sixth straight night Tuesday.

Amidst growing international criticism of the police response, the prime minister suggested he would inflict retribution on public servants if they take part in protests.

Demonstrators projected a message Tuesday that read "thank you for not being tired," onto the parliament building, an AFP reporter saw.

Others pasted photos on its walls from a 1989 rally in the same spot. Soviet authorities brutally crushed that demonstration, with some 20 people killed.

- Court challenge rejected -

Demonstrators accuse the government of bringing Tbilisi back into Moscow's orbit and betraying the Black Sea nation's bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in its constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.

Pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the government -- has backed the protest and demanded a re-run of the disputed parliamentary vote.

But, intensifying the crisis, Tbilisi's top court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by Zurabishvili and opposition parties to overturn the election result.

That announcement came shortly after Kobakhidze -- who has ruled out talks with the opposition -- vowed to punish his opponents.

"Opposition politicians who have orchestrated the violence in recent days while hiding in their offices will not escape responsibility," he told a press conference.

International criticism of Georgia's handling of the protests has grown, with several Western countries saying Tbilisi had used excessive force.

- Kremlin-style language -

Kobakhidze, 46, threatened to punish civil servants who join the protests, after several ambassadors and a deputy foreign minister resigned over the crackdown on demonstrators and the decision to suspend EU talks.

"The process of self-cleansing within the public sector has been very interesting. We are closely monitoring everyone's actions, and they will not go without a response," he said.

Evoking language used by the Kremlin, Kobakhidze alleged the protest movement was "funded from abroad".

He also singled out non-government groups -- heavily targeted in a repressive pre-election campaign by authorities -- for being behind the protests, vowing that they will "not evade responsibility as defined by law".

Georgia this year adopted Russian-style legislation designed to restrict the activity of NGOs as well measures that the EU says curb LGBTQ rights.

The laws prompted the United States to slap sanctions on Georgian officials.

But Kobakhidze said his government hoped that the "US attitudes towards us will change after January 20" -- when Donald Trump, who has criticised federal support for gender transition, takes office.

- 'Message is clear' -

Kobakhidze's threats to the opposition came as more Western leaders criticised Tbilisi's police response to the protests.

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday slammed as "deeply concerning" the situation in Georgia, condemning "unequivocally" the reports of violence.

The mostly young protesters accuse Georgian Dream of acting on Russian orders and fear the ex-Soviet country will end up back under Russian influence.

"We want freedom and we do not want to find ourselves in Russia," 21-year-old protester Nika Maghradze told AFP.

Georgia's health ministry said that 26 people -- 23 protesters and three law enforcement officers -- were injured in the protest on Monday night.

President Zurabishvili has described the protests as Georgians "rising against the Russian puppetry regime".

"The message is clear: Give me my vote back! Give me my European future back!," she said on social media on Monday.

W.Mansour--SF-PST