Georgia: massive protests against “Russian law”

Lika Mebagishvili, chair of the Dental Workers’ Union of Georgia, spoke to Sacha Ismail from Solidarity on 12 May.

• Today, 16 May, at 7.00pm (GMT) Lika is speaking, alongside Ukrainian socialist Artem Tidva, at an online meeting about the Georgian protests. The meeting is organised by the UK Ukraine Solidarity Campaign

Last June the Georgian government proposed a so-called “foreign agents” law, saying that organisations that receive 20% of their funding from abroad will be designated agents of a foreign power, subject to special government monitoring and forced to hand over internal information. Those refusing to register faced very large and exponentially rising fines.

In 2023 the law passed its first hearing, but there were mass protests, with many thousands in the streets, and the legislative process was halted. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, said they would not try again.

Yet in April this year the process did start again, with very slightly different wording – “foreign agents” has been replaced by “foreign influence”. The draft law has passed two hearings, with the third due shortly.

The law is alarmingly similar to the one adopted by Russia in 2012 – a law that has been used to suppress freedom of the press and crack down on civil society, effectively stripping vast numbers of people of their rights. The primary targets are NGOs and media organisations, but also trade unions.

People in Georgia are not willing to tolerate this. The protests this time are much bigger – the one yesterday [Saturday 11 May] was perhaps 200,000, out of a population of less than four million. These protests are dominated by young people, but really a huge cross-section of society is united in opposition.

Does the government still have a significant base of support?

Yes, but I would say a minority, no more than a quarter. Its support is stronger among older people, who are more likely to have pro-Russian views. It is backed by some of the richest and most powerful people in the country.

It has organised counter-demonstrations through mechanisms such as putting pressure on public sector workers to attend and bribing people reliant on state support, putting on free transport and so on. However they are much smaller than our protests.

What are the politics of Georgian Dream?

The key thing is that they are highly authoritarian. Since the protests started police have been using pepper spray and water cannons to disperse them, and riot police have assaulted activists, including women. Democracy activists, but also public defenders, legal scholars, opposition politicians, LGBTQI campaigners and others, have had their homes covered with posters and graffiti about foreign agents.

In the last few years, the party has also become more straightforwardly and openly pro-Russian.

What does the government say about the Russian occupation of parts of Georgia? [Abkhazia and South Ossetia, occupied since the 2008 Russo-Georgian war]

Officially the government condemns it, but their increasingly warm relationship to the Kremlin – and their desire to transform Georgia to be more like Russia – shows these are empty words. Meanwhile the Russian government supports the Georgian government against the protests and we hear Russian politicians saying at last Georgia is switching to the right track.

What is role of the EU?

Georgia recently received EU candidate status, but EU governments have made clear that the path our government is taking means this is under threat. So the protests are also saying that we want Georgia to integrate with Europe, not gravitate towards Russia.

Being part of the EU is symbolic – for the people on the streets it represents freedom and the rights society wants. Georgia has a long democratic history: we were one of the first democratic republics in Europe. We know what it is like to live under Russian control. That is why the majority of Georgian people see the European path as the only one and are fighting for it aggressively.

How does this relate to Ukraine?

If you look at the pictures of the demonstrations, you will see numerous people holding Ukrainian flags. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine there has been visible support for Ukraine on every street, on many buildings. It is now the same people who are in the streets to oppose the foreign agents law.

The Georgian people are protesting for almost exactly the same things our Ukrainian sisters and brothers protested for in 2013 and 2014 – to say no to Russian domination and choose the European path.

Again, from the government, we see the same duplicity. They officially condemn the Russian war in Ukraine, in formal words but with no sense of loyalty or enthusiasm, and meanwhile they move closer to Russia. The great Georgian support for Ukraine comes from civil society – many have gone to fight, and many more volunteer regularly in campaigns and humanitarian support.

I certainly think the success of our struggle can have an impact on the struggle in Ukraine. If the Russian hold in the Caucusus weakens it will weaken elsewhere too.

What is the stance of the trade union movement in Georgia?

All the independent unions joined the protests from day one. Yesterday a union of agricultural, trade and industrial workers, called Labour, declared they are preparing for a mass protest strike to stop the law, and called on other unions to join. My union, the Dental Workers’ Union, will participate. We have also organised fundraising events to support the protest movement.

The Georgian Trade Union Confederation, on the other hand, has made a statement opposing the law and supporting European integration, but hasn’t done much to support the protests. Some of its constituent unions have pretty much stayed silent. However there are no unions that support the government.

Yesterday the students at Tblisi State University – the biggest university in the country, with twelve campuses – announced a strike. They will not attend lectures until the law is withdrawn.

Is there an organised left?

I myself am a socialist, though not a member of a socialist party. The left in a sense distinct from liberalism is visible in the demonstrations, has played a role in grassroots organising, and new left-wing groups and media platforms have been set up.

There is some discussion about the needs for demands that go beyond the main ones of the protests, particularly social and economic demands, but not really any organised advocacy for that. I hope that can change.

Unfortunately we don’t have any socialistic parties in our parliament. What we have is liberal democratic parties, with some leftish elements here and there. There is a risk, if we overthrow the government – which I think we can – that we’ll get a government is less authoritarian, more pro-European, in a sense more democratic, but also neoliberal. However everything is in flux and new political figures and organisations are emerging, so things are not fixed.

When is the next protest?

Today! [Sunday 12 May.] It’s an overnight demonstration, the first, going on through the night and all day tomorrow.

The next parliamentary for the law is likely 17 May, which is also the date the church designated a “day of the family” after homophobic violence against Pride protesters in 2013. I fear we will see clashes that day, because the government and its supporters, unlike the protesters, does not want things to remain peaceful.

International solidarity is important. We had at least ten protests in other countries yesterday. Demonstrators were aware of this and were genuinely touched. Anything that shows people elsewhere are aware of our struggle and want to show solidarity can have a real impact.