TBILISI, Georgia: Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday claimed victory in a “battle” against the pro-Western opposition, even as the post-election crisis fuelled by his suspension of EU talks showed no signs of easing.
Tbilisi has been engulfed in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party declared that it had won the October election.
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against alleged electoral fraud, with Kobakhidze’s announcement last week that EU candidate Tbilisi would not seek to open accession talks until 2028 triggering a new wave of mass demonstrations.
Since then, pro-EU protests in the capital Tbilisi have seen police making arrests and deploying tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators.
But with lower turnout over the last two nights, and no clashes between protesters and riot police, Kobakhidze on Friday hailed his security forces for “successfully neutralising the protesters’ capacity for violence”.
“We have won an important battle against liberal fascism in our country,” he told a news conference on Friday.
“But the fight is not over. Liberal fascism in Georgia must be defeated entirely, and work towards this goal will continue,” Kobakhidze said.
He also repeated his earlier threat to “complete the process of neutralising the radical opposition”.
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With protestors set to take to the streets again on Friday for a ninth consecutive night and both sides ruling out a compromise, there appeared to be no clear route out of the crisis.
Police raided several opposition party offices and arrested opposition leaders earlier this week, while around 300 people have been detained at rallies.
The turmoil is expected to further escalate on December 14, when Georgian Dream lawmakers are set to elect a loyalist to succeed pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili, who is at loggerheads with the ruling party.
Zurabishvili has declared Georgia’s newly elected parliament and government “illegitimate” and said she will not step down until the parliamentary poll is re-run.
While some pro-EU protestors worried that the movement might be losing steam, most of those who rallied on Thursday night were upbeat.
Ucha, a 42-year-old doctor who gave only his first name, said he had not seen his children in a week, having come to protest every day after work.
“Of course, we are a little bit tired,” he said. “We need a little rest, and then we will be back again.”
Thousands have also staged daily rallies in the second city of Batumi on the Black Sea coast, an AFP journalist reported.
Local media has reported protests across the country, including in the western cities of Zugdidi and Kutaisi.
The United States is among the Western countries to have denounced the crackdown on the protests, with Washington threatening additional sanctions against the country’s leaders. – AFP
