While Tbilisi City Hall’s 2024 Christmas message around the Freedom Square tree of lights may be “City Full of Victories,” the presence of eight coaches full of riot police, and a water cannon on standby to once again disperse peaceful protesters, suggests otherwise.
What started out as a quiet evening, with the streets around parliament clear of both patrol and riot police (though they were very much present in the back streets), seems soon to turn into a repeat of what we have experienced nightly since November 28: tear gas, pepper spray and water jets.
In parallel, groups of “vigilante police” in Halloween masks, or with their faces completely hidden, hunt lone protesters in the back streets, or boldly, on Rustaveli Avenue itself, live on camera, pounce on whomever they choose- men, women, journalists and teenagers- many beaten to the level of concussion, or dragged away behind police lines.
The mood among protesters remains resilient, angry, yet buoyed by mutual support and a sense of humor. Some bang on the metal barriers at the entrance to parliament, most stand with their friends, colleagues and fellow demonstrators, chatting. Occasional shouts of “Gaumarjos” and “Sakartvelo” can be heard.
Everyone on the streets tonight- in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and numerous other towns throughout the country- all are determined that Georgia will not be brought to its knees by authoritarianism. Their choice of decoration for Georgian Dream’s “parliament Christmas tree” speaks volumes.
