Georgia PM says 'won battle' with pro-EU protesters as crisis deepens

Tbilisi: 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 -- accused by critics of creeping authoritarianism and steering the country back towards Russia -- declared that it had won a disputed October election.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against alleged electoral fraud, with Kobakhidze's shock 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, using language reminiscent of how the Kremlin in Russia targets its political opponents.

"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".

Expected escalation

With protestors set to take to 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.

Masked 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 anti-government rallies in the second city of Batumi on the Black Sea coast, an AFP journalist reported.

And local media has reported protests across the country, including in the western cities of Zugdidi and Kutaisi.

'Torture' allegations

Critics of Georgian Dream are enraged by what they call its betrayal of Tbilisi's bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in the constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.

Several ambassadors, a deputy foreign minister, and other officials have resigned over the decision to suspend EU accession talks.

The party, in power for more than a decade, has advanced successive pieces of controversial legislation in recent years, targeting civil society and independent media.

Brussels warned such policies were incompatible with EU membership, while domestic critics accuse the government of copying Russia's playbook.

The United States is among the Western countries to have denounced the latest crackdown on the protests, with Washington threatening additional sanctions against the country's leaders.

Rights ombudsman Levan Ioseliani accused the police earlier this week of "torture" against those arrested.

He said 191 detained protesters had reported mistreatment in custody, with 138 showing visible injuries.

Following Kobakhidze's hardline rhetoric against the country's opposition, the police have also targeted Georgian Dream's political rivals, raiding party offices and arresting leaders.

In a fresh warning to the protestors, the prime minister on Friday said the police's "ability to respond to revolutionary attempts remains inexhaustible".