Nationwide protests are entering a fifth consecutive day in Georgia, as anger grows at the government’s decision to freeze European Union membership talks.
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00:00Fireworks launched at police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi as anger grows at the government's
00:08decision to halt talks for the country's integration into the European Union. Demonstrations are
00:14entering their fifth day.
00:17I'm here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my
00:21country. We've attended elections and it was clearly rigged and we've done everything in
00:25our power so far to show that we desire a European future. So right now we're going
00:29to defend ourselves, our country, our people and most importantly our future.
00:34Gathered outside parliament, thousands of demonstrators were met by riot police firing
00:39tear gas and water cannons. At least 150 people have been arrested. And the discontent has
00:46spread among the country's nearly four million people, with protests erupting at at least
00:51eight other cities and towns.
00:54Tensions have been rising since the Georgian Dream Party was re-elected in parliamentary
00:58elections in October. That victory was contested amid allegations the vote was rigged.
01:05The Georgian Dream Party has been accused of pursuing increasingly authoritarian and
01:10pro-Russian policies. And opposition leaders say the recent EU policy shift is further
01:16evidence of that.
01:18Georgia's ceremonial head of state, President Salome Zurabishvili, is standing by the opposition
01:23and the protesters, saying the resistant movement has begun.
01:53Declaring the country's new parliament illegitimate, Zurabishvili vowed to stay in office when her
02:08term ends this month, saying they have no right to name her replacement. She has promised
02:14to step aside if a free and fair vote is held to choose a Georgian leader, asking the Constitutional
02:20Court to annul October's election victory. Opposition parties and some Western governments
02:26have also called for a redo. But the country's newly elected prime minister has rejected
02:31the pressure, saying he will not allow the pro-EU protests to lead to a revolution.
02:36We believe that in the next four years, we will see a revolution. But we don't know
02:45what will happen in the next four years.
02:55The leader has called on the president to vacate her post and said that protesters who
03:00violate the law will be met with severe consequences. But despite that warning, protesters here
03:06are vowing to stay on the streets, fighting to protect their democracy and what they see
03:12as the country's European future.
03:14James Lynn and Rosie Grettinger for Taiwan Plus.