Written by Felix Wright
TBILISI (Reuters) – Skirmishes between demonstrators and police broke out in Georgia's capital for a fourth straight night on Sunday, as protests spread across the country against the government's decision to suspend European Union accession talks. There were signs that this was the case.
The country of 3.7 million people has seen several battles between the ruling Georgian Dream party and its opponents, who accuse it of pursuing increasingly authoritarian, anti-Western and pro-Russian policies. Tensions have been rising for months.
The crisis has deepened since the government announced Thursday that it would freeze EU negotiations for four years, with thousands of pro-EU demonstrators facing off against police armed with tear gas and water cannons.
Protesters gathered again on Rustaveli Street in central Tbilisi on Sunday night and threw fireworks at police, who responded with a volley of water cannons.
After several hours of standoff, well after midnight, police began moving the demonstrators away from the parliament building and down Rustaveli Street toward the Tbilisi Opera House, building barricades with whatever materials they could find.
“Frankly, it's very disgusting to see our government not listening to the wishes of the people,” protester Nikoloz Mirashvili said.
“I am here for a very simple reason: to protect the future of Europe and the democracy of our homeland.”
The four opposition groups urged demonstrators to request paid time off from work under labor laws to participate in the protests, and called on their employers to provide them with leave.
Georgia's pro-Western president Salome Zurabichvili has called for pressure on the Constitutional Court to annul last month's election won by Georgian Dream. Both the opposition and Zurabichvili claim the poll was fraudulent.
Georgian news agency Interpress said protesters blocked access roads to the country's main commercial port in the Black Sea city of Poti outside the capital.
Georgian media reported protests taking place in at least eight cities and towns. Opposition TV station Formula aired footage of people from Khashuri, a town of 20,000 people in central Georgia, throwing eggs at the local Georgian Dream office.
The EU and the US are alarmed by what they see as Georgia's departure from a pro-Western path and back into Russia's orbit. Georgian Dream claims to be working to protect the country's sovereignty from outside interference.
“Dark Abyss”
Russia is closely monitoring developments. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and security official, said an attempted revolution was occurring and wrote on Telegram that Georgia was “rapidly moving along the path of Ukraine into a dark abyss.” Usually this kind of thing ends up being very bad. ”
The Kremlin itself has not yet commented, but it has long accused the West of fomenting revolutions in post-Soviet countries that Moscow still considers part of its sphere of influence.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze dismissed US criticism of the “excessive use of force” against demonstrators.
Kobakhidze also ignored Washington's announcement on Saturday to suspend strategic partnership with Georgia. He said this was a “temporary event” and that Georgia would consult with President-elect Donald Trump's new administration, which took office in January.
President Zurabichvili said on Saturday that he had no intention of resigning when his term expires this month, arguing that the new parliament is illegitimate and does not have the power to name a successor.
Kobakhidze said he understood Zurabichvili's “emotional state.”
“But of course, on December 29th, she will have to leave the mansion and hand over this building to the legitimately elected president,” he said.
“Foreign agency”
Hundreds of diplomats and civil servants have signed an open letter stating that halting EU negotiations is illegal because the goal of EU membership is enshrined in Georgia's constitution.
Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that foreign countries were trying to “interfere with the functioning of the institutions of a sovereign state” and that such actions were unacceptable.
For most of the period since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia has tilted strongly toward the West and sought to weaken the influence of Russia, which lost a brief war in 2008. Eventually, the country was promised membership in NATO and became a member state. It was an official candidate for EU membership last year.
But domestic opponents and Western governments fear that Georgian Dream intends to abandon that course, despite denials. In June, it enacted a law requiring non-governmental organizations to register as “foreign agents” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Parliament approved a law restricting LGBT rights in September.
The government claims it is trying to protect the country's sovereignty and prevent Ukraine from suffering its fate by becoming drawn into a new war with Russia.
The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Callas, who took office on Sunday, expressed solidarity with the protesters.
“We support the Georgian people and their choice for the future of Europe,” she posted on X.
(Reporting by Felix Light; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Peter Graff, Ron Popeski, Christina Fincher, Richard Chang)