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Georgians have been demonstrating on and off since spring towards the ruling Georgian Dream occasion and its pro-Russian and rising authoritarian stance. However the newest wave of protests, which started on the finish of November, feels totally different. The depth on the streets is unprecedented.
The protesters are indignant, and their anger is deepening within the face of an more and more heavy-handed response from the authorities. The trigger stays the identical, however now the rising sense of betrayal is simply too apparent to disclaim, even for a number of the ruling occasion voters who purchased into the Georgian Dream’s pre-election promise of a European future.
The catalyst was a press release by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on 28 November. Within the nation the place the aim of European Union integration is enshrined within the structure and public help for this aim has constantly polled at round 80%, Kobakhidze declared that the federal government will droop EU integration talks till 2028. Quickly after the briefing, Moscow chimed in with reward, as Vladimir Putin lauded the Georgian authorities’s “bravery”.
For a lot of Georgian society, EU integration means greater than financial stability or open borders – it’s a battle for survival. Many see the EU as a protect towards Russia, the historic oppressor that has lengthy loomed over the nation. The present protests subsequently characterize the continuation of a centuries-long battle to flee the grip of Russian colonialism, a battle for which Georgians have repeatedly paid in blood.
On this context, protests appeared inevitable after Kobakhidze’s announcement. However as I walked to the parliament constructing that night, my expectations had been modest. You see, the November protests over the disputed elections had misplaced momentum, folks had been overtaken by a way of exhaustion and defeat. So it appeared that the federal government had timed its announcement nicely, exploiting public despair to consolidate its pro-Russian agenda. However what I noticed that night took me utterly abruptly.
Inside an hour of the speech, the streets across the parliament had been teeming with folks. No opposition occasion or activist organisation had referred to as for the protests. It was a spontaneous and uncoordinated outpouring of public anger. There have been no phases or loudspeakers, simply folks booing and banging on metal barricades. All of the sudden a voice started to chant “Re-vo-lu-tion” and others joined in. It was then that it grew to become clear that the ruling Georgian Dream occasion had miscalculated. It was additionally clear that their response can be brutal.
