Protests in Georgia spread as PM defies US condemnation

Protesters and police have skirmished in Georgia's capital for a fourth straight night and there are signs the opposition is spreading across the country over the government's decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union. The country of 3.7 million people has seen months of rising tension between the ruling Georgian Dream party and opponents who accuse it of pursuing increasingly authoritarian, anti-Western and pro-Russian policies. The crisis has deepened since Thursday's announcement that the government would freeze EU talks for four years, with thousands of pro-EU demonstrators facing off against police armed with tear gas and water cannon. Protesters gathered again in Tbilisi on Sunday night on central Rustaveli Avenue, tossing fireworks at police, who responded with volleys from water cannons. "Quite frankly, it's been very tiring to see that our government does not hear what the people desire," said protester Nikoloz Miruashvili. "I'm here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my country." Georgia's pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili called for pressure to be brought on the Constitutional Court to annul elections last month won by Georgian Dream. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll was rigged. Beyond the capital, Georgian news agency Interpress said demonstrators had blocked an access road into the country's main commercial port in the Black Sea city of Poti. Georgian media reported protests in at least eight cities and towns. Opposition TV channel Formula showed footage of people in Khashuri, a town of 20,000 in central Georgia, throwing eggs at the local Georgian Dream office and tearing down the party's flag. The EU and the United States are alarmed by what they see as Georgia's shift away from a pro-Western path and back towards Russia's orbit. Georgian Dream says it is acting to defend the country's sovereignty against outside interference. Russia is following developments closely. Security official Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, said an attempted revolution was taking place and wrote on Telegram that Georgia was "moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss. Usually this sort of thing ends very badly". The Kremlin itself has yet to comment on the latest events in Georgia, but it has long accused the West of fomenting revolutions in post-Soviet countries that Moscow still regards as part of its sphere of influence. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze dismissed criticism by the United States, which has condemned the use of "excessive force" against demonstrators. Kobakhidze also shrugged off Washington's announcement on Saturday that it was suspending a strategic partnership with Georgia. He said this was a "temporary event", and Georgia would talk to the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump when it takes office in January. President Zourabichvili said on Saturday she would refuse to step down when her term ends later this month on the grounds that the new parliament was illegitimate and had no authority to name her successor. Hundreds of diplomats and civil servants have signed open letters saying the suspension of EU talks is unlawful because the goal of joining the bloc is enshrined in Georgia's constitution. Georgia's foreign ministry said in a statement that foreign states were trying to "interfere in the functioning of the institutions of a sovereign state", and such action was unacceptable. For much of the period since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia has leaned strongly towards the West and tried to loosen the influence of Russia, to which it lost a brief war in 2008. It has been promised eventual NATO membership, and became an official candidate for EU entry last year.