Opposition members launch hunger strike outside Georgian Parliament

A group of opposition activists, including members of the Coalition for Change, have begun a hunger strike outside the Georgian Parliament on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi.

The protest was initiated by coalition member Gedevan Popkhadze and includes participants such as United National Movement representative Darejan Tskhvitaria.

Popkhadze said that blocking streets was not the only form of protest the movement should rely on, noting the increasing pressure on activists.

“A reality has emerged where members of the protest movement are being arrested daily and the country is rapidly moving toward dictatorship. Only by returning everything to a political framework can we stop this process. If we do not agree that Georgia should not have a parliament elected through fraudulent elections, and that political prisoners should not exist, the country simply cannot progress”, Popkhadze stated.

He added that the hunger strike was intended to establish a new centre of protest amid restrictions placed on demonstrators occupying Rustaveli Avenue.

“Street blockades are not the only form of protest we should use. The authorities’ response to the Rustaveli blockade, which is a constitutional right, demands that we introduce additional methods of protest. This may not be a radically new form, but it is effective and adequate to the reality created by the regime”, Popkhadze said.

Tskhvitaria noted that continuing the protest movement was crucial at this stage.

“We have resorted to an extreme form, a hunger strike. Many of us were on the list to join and around 10 to 15 have already been detained. I believe that continuing the protest is now more important than keeping Rustaveli blocked. Anyone who wants to expand this protest is welcome to join. This will be permanent”, she said.