Protests in Tbilisi against the plans of the ruling Georgian Dream party to adopt a bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”, openly copied from Russian legislation, have been going on for more than two weeks. And from the very beginning they were many thousands.
However, in recent days, these protests have reached a completely different level.
It all started with the fact that on April 29, the Georgian authorities decided once again organize a large-scale rally in your support. The day before, more than 100 thousand people came to the opposition rally – and it was very important for the authorities to report that twice as many came to their rally.
And in addition, the ruling Georgian Dream party sought to convince itself that their electorate still supports them and supports their bill (even despite the fact that about 90% of Georgian citizens, that is, the majority of the electorate, supports the policy of EU membership including the ruling party).
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The Georgian authorities resort to such rallies whenever a critical situation arises for them.
And this time the situation for the authorities looks truly critical.
And therefore, to attract people they had to use all methods and levers of influence. Using all administrative resources, they gathered throughout the country (where the main word was usually given to law enforcement officers) gathered civil servants of various ranks, employees of state-owned companies, teachers and thousands of other people whose income is related to budget payments.
The need to show popular support acquired strategic importance, since the honorary head of the party in power and the de facto ruler of the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili, was scheduled to speak at the rally.
And the text read out by Ivanishvili at this rally turned out to be a complete shock – both for the international community and for the population of Georgia.
His speech was entirely built on theses about the demonization of the West and the whitening of Russia’s actions. Such arguments, given Tbilisi’s difficult relations with the West, especially in recent years, should not have been a sensation, but hearing this directly from Ivanishvili was a real surprise.
As a rule, Ivanishvili always had a personal headquarters for voicing anti-Western phrases. Moreover, he even singled out a group from the parliamentary majority and created a faction for this purpose.
According to experts, with this text he actually crossed all the red lines, from violating the constitution to denigrating strategic partners. And this could be a sign that this time he decided to go all-in. And that there will be no compromise with the ruling party, as there was before.
And that the choice is now very simple – either a new revolution, or abandonment of the European course and life under the protectorate of the “big brother”. However, so far everyone is avoiding uttering the word “revolution,” but it is clear where the processes are moving, especially when there are no signs of compromise yet.
It was this understanding that mobilized those who, until the very end, tried to stay at home and not take part in rallies.
Probably many will ask the question:
Why has the current protest become so special for Tbilisi, a city in which most of the period of independence was spent in rallies?
Only by mass numbers? Or is the difference something else?
For me, as an ordinary participant in these events, the current events have become a revelation.
At the current demonstrations, for the first time in my life, I saw a completely new, diverse, motivated, creative and courageous group of young people as a leading force, pushing aside the existing political class. And, armed with popular legitimacy, she began an operation to liberate the captured country.
Believe me, this protest has no analogues either in Georgia or in neighboring countries. First of all, because the average age of the main core of protesters is 16-20 years old, they rejected old, proven methods of struggle and introduced completely new tactics.
In particular:
a) they created social accounts and waged an effective, targeted information war against the regime;
b) as part of the information war, they attracted tens of thousands of supporters and won their sincere love;
c) decentralization of protests and picketing of the most important transport hubs and government facilities;
d) actions according to local mini-plans and quick movement from location to location;
e) the absence of a bright leader, which breaks all plans of the authorities;
f) and most importantly, they managed to put this support into practice and awaken the masses, buried for years in deep nihilism by the efforts of the regime.
With their tactical strategy, they practically neutralized the regime, which had extensive experience in suppressing protests. The events of the previous two nights showed us that the authorities do not have the resources to forcefully neutralize the protest wave.
Special forces are effective against demonstrators if their number is several times greater than the number of citizens, but in this case the opposite is true.
They put constant pressure on security forces and focus on exhausting them and putting them into strategic fatigue mode. And this is already producing results. For example, on the night of May 2, the security forces, tired of the events of the previous day, did not dare to confront the protesters again and locked themselves in parliament.
Some assessed this step as a tactical retreat, but it was the courage of the Georgian youth that forced them to take such an unfavorable step for themselves.
And just yesterday, when demonstrators blocked one of the main transport hubs of the capital, which practically paralyzed the entire city, something happened that plunged the authorities into complete hysteria:
drivers got out of their cars and applauded the protesters.
Seeing such a picture, the police simply left the area. This means that demonstrators are forcing the authorities to accept their agenda with their bare hands.
The government, distraught by this event, resorted to Yanukovych’s method, introducing “titushki” into the protest environment. But this did not bring the desired result – the provocateurs were identified and expelled.
Another headache for the government is that this protest has no clear leaders. If previously they always managed to demonize leaders and thereby slow down protest, now they simply do not exist.
It is impossible not to be impressed by the organized system of self-defense of the protesters. They mobilized all the means (masks, helmets, medicines) necessary for self-defense during raids from security forces.
Moreover, at the right moment they even launch an organized offensive (I repeat, with their bare hands) and force the security forces to leave the territory.
Looking at the ineffective actions of the government, their supporters and especially propagandists fall into complete hysteria and demand decisive steps from the government, which the government is unable to implement. This dispels the myth of their invincibility that they have firmly clung to for so many years.
Of course, everyone is interested in who finances all these processes. This topic has already become the subject of much speculation.
However, in fact, the protesters solved this problem easily and effectively: businessmen and ordinary citizens across the country deposited money equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dollars into their special account.
And at the same time, everyone who can is providing support to the protesters. Someone welcomes people who come from other cities to stay at their home.
The construction supermarket has announced a season of discounts on respirators – this is very important in the context of the use of tear gas by the police. The pharmacy chain is offering free medical masks – one per hand – for the same reason.
Even a network of veterinary clinics publishes detailed instructions on what to do in case of poisoning with this gas. To divert attention, it is clarified that these tips are needed for domestic animals, which may also suffer from the actions of security forces.
But what shocked me most was the politeness and neatness of the protesters. Every morning these sleepless and exhausted children begin cleaning the streets. It is impossible to look at all this without emotions and tears.
The Georgian government made a big mistake when, after successfully appropriating state institutions, it decided to appropriate the country as well. It is now obvious that the proud Georgian people will never give up their freedom and will not give up their country to anyone.
Of course, Georgian Dream still has hope of crushing this protest by force.
And in this they can count on the help of their friends from Moscow (where they obviously will not refuse such a request for help).
However, there is one nuance: it seems that now every move by the authorities will provoke an even greater response from Georgian society. A society that will not tolerate authorities sitting on bayonets.
Especially if these bayonets are Russian.
Author: Amiran Hevtsouriani,
Professor of the Georgian Technical University, founder of the Georgian-Ukrainian Center,
for “European Truth”, from Tbilisi
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