MILES PARKS, HOST:
Last week, protesters in Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia on Russia's southern border, marked 365 days of nonstop protests. They say their government is crushing democracy and the hopes of joining the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia, which to this day continues to have troops occupying two breakaway regions in the country. Here's Robin Forestier-Walker's report. And just a warning, this story starts with the sounds of fireworks.
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ROBIN FORESTIER-WALKER: It is November 2024, and protesters are facing down tear gas and water cannons on Tbilisi's main avenue. They set off fireworks and flash lasers in the direction of black-clad riot police.
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IRAKLI KOBAKHIDZE: (Non-English language spoken).
FORESTIER-WALKER: On November 28 last year, the prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced that Georgia would halt European integration for four years.
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FORESTIER-WALKER: For the thousands of Georgians who thronged the streets that night and for weeks to come, his speech was considered a goodwill gesture to Russia and an insult to their dream of joining the European Union. Nodo Latsabidze is a protester.
NODO LATSABIDZE: Our government, they have, like, Russian friends, and they are helping them, like, putting lots of money and lots of power here against us.
FORESTIER-WALKER: This past year, the government has been crushing dissent with beatings and arrests, the jailing of opposition leaders, big fines for protesters and the criminalization of Western-funded NGOs and the media.
(CROSSTALK)
FORESTIER-WALKER: Now it's restructuring the universities, like this one. Students, the backbone of the protest movement, are the ultimate target, says Giorgi Gvalia, vice-rector of Ilia State University.
GIORGI GVALIA: They find it probably very unpleasant that students, you know, really go against this official - their official narrative. I believe that they really use this term, reform, to conceal their underlying motivation that is to strengthen the state and political control over the universities.
FORESTIER-WALKER: This month, the European Commission, based in Brussels, concluded that Georgia's democratic backsliding made it a candidate for EU membership in name only. In response, the government accuses the EU of liberal elitism, out of touch with an emerging new Europe. Shalva Papuashvili is the speaker of Parliament.
SHALVA PAPUASHVILI: (Through interpreter) Brussels has strayed from European values. We see them attacking Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and the number of patriotic forces in these countries and others is growing - in Germany and France and elsewhere. The time will come when Brussels will have to account for all of this. Brussels is anti-European, not us.
FORESTIER-WALKER: European institutions have sided with the protesters. The European Parliament awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Mzia Amaglobeli, who founded two independent media outlets. She's serving a two-year prison sentence for slapping a police officer. Fellow journalist Tamar Rukhadze says Mzia's a symbol of resistance.
TAMAR RUKHADZE: We need to continue to do our job because our job is very important and maybe more vital than ever than before. And we need to keep fighting. And I'd say, if Mzia can keep fighting there, behind bars, so can we.
(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLING)
FORESTIER-WALKER: The protests go on. Some days, small groups converge. On others, large crowds return to downtown Tbilisi. The protesters are fewer in number now, but they say they'll continue to make their voices heard despite the risks.
For NPR, I'm Robin Forestier-Walker in Tbilisi, Georgia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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