Prepared by Messenger Staff
Popkhadze Continues Hunger Strike for 25th Day, Calls for Mass Protest on November 28
Gedevan Popkhadze, a leader of the Coalition for Change, has continued a hunger strike in front of Parliament for the 25th consecutive day together with several activists. He told InterpressNews that although they are physically weak, they do not plan to end the protest.
"We haven't needed medical intervention. In the evenings, they call an ambulance to check general parameters such as blood pressure and sugar levels, and so far everything is within normal range. We feel weak, which is natural because it is the 25th day of the hunger strike. When you haven't eaten for 25 days, the body functions in a completely different way. We are not thinking about ending the protest or about being the ones in danger, because today the one in danger is Georgia. Everyone can see what kind of laws the government is passing and where they are taking Georgia. In fact, they are robbing our homeland of its future," Popkhadze said.
He argued that recent legislative proposals introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party show what he described as tactics associated with the Russian political model. "This is not a Georgian standard because now there is an attempt to establish Putin-style relations with the people, which drags the standard of human rights even lower. Probably the final line will be when they start arresting people just for holding a blank sheet of paper. If you need 500 or 1,000 police officers just to prevent a street from being blocked, it is better to let the street be blocked. Talking about why such a small number of people should be allowed to block the street is nonsense. This is a clear sign that this regime will not tolerate dissent and relies on police force. They want the people's protest to stop and resistance to end," he stated.
Popkhadze called on the public to gather for the planned protest on November 28. "As long as this protest continues, dictatorship cannot take shape. Those who want to establish dictatorship in Georgia know this very well. Continuous protest, especially a 24 hour one, makes dictatorship impossible. We believe that on November 28, everyone must find the time and opportunity, put aside their affairs, and be here on Rustaveli Avenue. We all need to once again make it clear that the fight continues," he said.
Georgian Speaker Says Ukraine War at 'Dead End,' Claims Same Scenario Was Planned for Georgia
Speaker of Georgian Dream-led Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said Ukraine now faces a situation in which it can neither continue the war nor bring it to an end, describing it as a deadlock that Georgian leaders worked to avoid.
"Ukraine is in a situation today where it can neither continue the war nor end it. This is exactly what they wanted to happen to us, to leave us with no choice and to face two bad choices," Papuashvili said.
He argued that the Georgian Dream party followed a careful course when, in his view, both foreign actors and domestic groups urged Georgia toward involvement in the conflict. "When we were being dragged into war by external forces and internal opposition or NGOs, we said that Georgia knows very well how such wars begin, and most importantly, we know from bitter experience how such wars end," he stated.
Papuashvili said the government maintained caution because it believed the country was close to being drawn into a devastating conflict. He criticized what he described as reckless rhetoric from some political voices. "In contrast, we saw fake heroism at the computer keyboard, without understanding what dangers such hysteria posed in Georgia," he said.
Turning back to Ukraine, Papuashvili said the conflict has reached a point where both continuing and ending the fighting present serious problems. "This is a big challenge, because these whole vicissitudes and the war have reached a dead end," he said. According to him, President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent remarks reflect the severity of the situation. "Zelensky's statement is proof that one must make a choice between two bad choices," Papuashvili said.
He said that the same outcome had been intended for Georgia, and that the government's approach was aimed at preventing the country from ending up in a similar predicament.
