There is overwhelming support inside Georgia for the weeks of large protests there demanding a new election — and for the unwavering determination by demonstrators not to back down. Under this pressure, the government has pulled back from its earlier brutal assaults on the daily actions in Tbilisi, the capital, and elsewhere.
Demonstrators have taken full advantage of this opening they’ve won, with thousands of Georgians from all walks of life filling the streets: workers, students, parents, immigrants, as well as nationally known artists who perform at the rallies in front of the country’s parliament.
Some 200,000 people, about a sixth of the population of the city, took to the streets Dec. 1 after the unpopular pro-Moscow Georgian Dream party government announced plans to put off talks on joining the European Union until at least 2028. It was the largest demonstration in the modern history of this county of 3.7 million. The protests began after Georgian Dream claimed a narrow victory in the October parliamentary elections, which many viewed as rigged.
“Now the government police have backed down,” Ruso, a demonstrator in Tbilisi, told the Militant Jan. 1. “They tried to scare us, but the violence drastically increased the anger and the number of people willing to protest.”
Over 1,800 Georgia businesses, including leading supermarket chains and communications and transportation companies, have signed a petition calling for new elections. More are expected to join as the political crisis fueled by Georgian Dream’s foreign policy and police repression continues to disrupt the economy. The TBC Bank has been buying tickets for cultural events to support artists who have gone on strike.
Singers, dancers join protests
According to the Guild, a trade union that organizes theater professionals, 90% of its 550 members are on strike. Over 100 Georgian musicians released a joint manifesto saying, “We, musicians, protest against the illegitimate government. We go on strike and refuse to participate in any state event.” They called for a new election and condemned the state violence.
One of the first to sign the manifesto was nationally renowned jazz singer Nino Katamadze, who performed for protesters Dec. 4. A staunch defender of the sovereignty of both Georgia and Ukraine, she was given an award by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for her support.
At a demonstration of tens of thousands Dec. 21, hundreds of protesters joined a performance of the Khorumi military dance led by the Sukshishvili National Ballet. The dance symbolizes national unity and resistance against common threats.
Polyphonic Georgia, a large group of musicians, performed for demonstrators Dec. 27, as did Georgian opera star Anita Rachvelishvili.
“Unlike earlier, when we worried about our parents joining in,” Ruso told the Militant, “there are protests every day now and sometimes it’s a parents’ march, or a grandparents’ march. University students and professors join in. Every evening, as people leave work, the crowds get larger.”
On Dec. 25 a large group of Armenians, Azerbaijanis and other national minorities living in Georgia joined the protests in what was called the Unity March. “Ukrainians, even though they struggle to make a living here, are always participants,” Ruso said. “There are always Ukrainian flags. It’s a common struggle for sovereignty both peoples are waging.”
President Mikheil Kavelashvili’s government passed new repressive laws Dec. 30, increasing fines and making it a criminal offense to block streets, set off firecrackers or violate other government rules on demonstrations. On Jan. 4 it announced plans to deport 25 foreigners for participating in the protests, after 91 were ordered out of the country in November and December.
“We hope the government will realize that we won’t stop,” Ruso told the Militant. “They want to charge protesters with criminal charges, but no one thinks they are legitimate. They won’t stop us. We fight for anyone arrested; we won’t leave anyone behind.
“The New Year’s Eve march had two rallies, one at the parliament building and one at the prison where 51 protesters are being held, charged with ‘group violence.’ Hundreds of those arrested were released with just fines,” she said. “We are more confident now. We know some of us will be arrested or beaten up, but we can’t give up. We have a common goal, to demand what we deserve. We will fight for each other and for our future.”