This page is dedicated to criticizing the Georgian Dream political party for stealing the country’s democracy and placing it under the influence of its authoritarian neighbor to the north. I witnessed firsthand the events following the dubious parliamentary election results on October 26th, 2024, including human rights violations in the forms of severe beatings, water canons that were chemically infused with breathing and vision irritants, and indiscriminately launching tear-gas canisters into dense crowds of peaceful protesters with the understanding that it could easily cause a stampede.
While there were many people shooting fireworks and throwing water bottles and other items, the police were throwing them right back from behind their shields. It didn’t matter at all if the crowd was provocative or calm, the police units would have used the same methods of dispersal after warning the crowds to vacate the area.
The following days were struck with terror as opposition leaders were beaten and arrested and their party headquarters ransacked by masked authorities, activists were beaten and detained, and journalists were attacked on the streets while filming. The homes of prominent figures who had been critical of the party were illegally searched. During the protests the following days, the authorities used lasers to “paint” people in the crowd, which could be seen through the lenses of the helmets the special forces officers wore. The marks were a signal to beat those people more severely. I had been marked several times in the four nights that I was there. They targeted people like me who were filming on the front lines and I had already escaped the grip of a special forces officer on my second night, therefore I felt that my time was running short on luck.
If I did manage to survive the fifth night, I most certainly would have been beaten and detained on the sixth night because the police were apprehending people in the metro stations, on both sides of Parliament, who either possessed face coverings or gas masks, and I carried both. After visiting 33 countries, listening to kamikaze drones being shot down in Kyiv, and enduring four hours of interrogation in Iraqi Kurdistan, I felt in danger for the first time since I started traveling four years ago. I had published the vindictive Prime Minister’s name online and attended the earlier protests without a face covering, so I felt it was a matter of time before I ended up on a list. Luckily, I had access to information that let me know I would be able to leave the country safely, which I finally did on December 9th.
As of this writing, the protesters are entering the fourth week of nightly protests, with sporadic ones happening during the day, all across the country. I will continue covering the Georgian people’s fight for democracy and self-determination while challenging the legitimacy of the Georgian Dream as a ruling party. Although the country is small in size, it is a huge player in the game of geopolitics. Not only are there important pipelines and trade routes that run through the Caucasus region, but the Georgian Dream is helping Russia evade sanctions through entry ports at Zugdidi and Dariali. More on that later.
10/29/2024 - Thousands of Georgians Protest Election Results, Opposition Calls for New Elections
11/23/2024 - An Authoritarian Thorn in the Caucasus
11/26/2024 - Unrest Surges as Georgia’s Parliament Holds First Session
12/5/2024 - Chaos and Crackdowns in Georgia: A Recap of What’s Happened Since Election Day
12/14/2024 - Georgian Dream Selects New President, Cancels Christmas Tree Ceremony After Whining
12/24/2024 - The Case Against the Legitimacy of the Ruling Georgian Dream Party
12/28/2024 - Georgian Oligarch Ivanishvili Sanctioned, Protesters Form Human Chain Across Tbilisi