Georgian President Says Country In Revolt After Hundreds Arrested In Fourth Night Of Protests

TBILISI -- Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said the entire country is in "revolt" after police beat and forcibly dispersed protesters in Tbilisi for a fourth night amid angry demonstrations over government plans to suspend EU accession talks through 2028.

Police in ski masks waged running battles in the streets of the capital and in a central subway station after using water cannons to prevent a protest near parliament and made more arrests and used tear gas and chemical spray in another crackdown launched around 2 a.m. on December 2.

RFE/RL journalists said police arrested and beat several demonstrators after they were dispersed from a rally and forced through the Rustaveli station after a protest in the area was broken up

Georgian Protests Continue With Overnight Clashes In Tbilisi

At least 200 people have been detained so far, but the number of detainees from the latest night of tumult in the Caucasus state of around 4 million was still unclear.

"This is the revolt of an entire country," Zurabishvili told French news group France Inter in an interview.

"The elections were violated and stolen. They are not recognized by anyone; we are facing a regime that is outside the constitutional law.... My mandate continues until the day a president is legitimately elected," she added.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said Zurabishvili, who has allied herself with the pro-European opposition, must leave office at the end of her term later this month. His announcement comes despite her pledge to stay in office as a constitutional dispute continues following national elections last month claimed by Georgian Dream, which has ruled the country for over a decade.

Zurabishvili and the opposition have alleged fraud and other improprieties and refuse to recognize the new parliament, which last week scheduled an indirect election for a new president for December 14 despite ongoing legal challenges.

Zurabishvili asserted parliament does not have the right to choose her successor following the end of her term in December and she vowed to remain in office.

"There is no legitimate parliament, and therefore, an illegitimate parliament cannot elect a new president," she said on November 30.

A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated in the Georgian Constitution.

SEE ALSO: RFE/RL Journalist Arrested, Beaten During Protests In Georgian Capital, Lawyer Says

But the ruling Georgian Dream's enactment this year of what Zurabishvili and critics call a "Russian law" clamping down on NGOs and media financed from abroad, as well as a controversial bill on LGBT rights and public attacks on the West by Kobakhidze and other officials, have raised fears the current government is leading the country back into Russia's orbit.

Western governments have questioned the October parliamentary elections -- in which Georgian Dream claimed 54 percent of the vote -- arguing the elections were marred by violations and Russian influence.

Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of the controversial "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens to publicly discredit thousands of media outlets and civil society groups as "serving" outside powers.

SEE ALSO: At Georgian Protests, Journalists Say They're Being Targeted And Beaten

Germany said on December 2 that it still supported Georgia's bid for EU membership, while the Baltic states threatened to impose sanctions on Georgian leaders who oppose the country's move toward joining the group.

"The door to Europe remains open for Georgia. But what is important is that Georgia decides to take this path, and the people we see protesting want to take this path," said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced on December 2 that Tallinn had jointly agreed with Latvia and Lithuania to introduce sanctions against "those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia."

"Opponents of democracy & violators of human rights are not welcome in our countries," Tsahkna said on social media.

The United States in July announced it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning that it was backsliding on democracy.