In Georgian memory, we had never seen this. For almost two months, the country has been shaken by demonstrations of unprecedented scale, nature and duration, led by fiercely pro-European youth far from political parties. “It’s organized chaos. Between us, we call it “the April awakening”confides Salomé Qourdiani, law student. Maybe it will go down in history under this name? »
Like thousands of people, the young woman demonstrated again, Friday May 24 in Tbilisi, to demand the withdrawal of the bill on “foreign influence”. Modeled on a Russian law, it aims to silence civil society and the media in this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus. “It’s an existential fight, we risk losing Europe! », Salomé Qourdiani is alarmed. If promulgated, the text, which was adopted on May 14 by Parliament, would effectively halt Georgia’s integration into the European Union (EU) – it has been officially a candidate since December 2023 – and would bring the country back under the influence of Russia, whose troops have occupied 20% of the territory since the 2008 war with Moscow.
So far, the ruling Georgian Dream party, founded by the country’s strongman, billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has remained deaf to protests and international condemnation. On Friday, Washington toughened its tone by announcing a “new visa restriction policy” which will apply “to those responsible for or complicit in the attack on democracy in Georgia, as well as to members of their families”. This measure was greeted with relief by the Georgian population, 80% pro-European, and who hope that Western pressure will help them bend the government.
The demonstrators also put themselves in marching order. Supported by a large part of Georgians, the movement, spontaneous and without a leader, is now seeking to organize itself to last over time.
On this Monday in May, Tsiala Katamidze, a 36-year-old activist, took part in the first meeting of around twenty demonstrators from Batumi, one of the other centers of protest, in the west of the country. In the room, most are students, others are members of NGOs like Transparency International. “All social strata are mobilizing, she explains. Not only young people, but also teachers, doctors, universities… So the objective now is to coordinate and build a solid and argued discourse in the face of the propaganda of those in power, which asserts untruths and wants marginalize us. »
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