REPORTING. In Georgia, young people on the front line to denounce the law on “foreign influence”

“The mobilization was a little calmer this week… But, did you see? I am very happy.” Natalia Kopshidze displays a radiant smile, while thousands of people once again express their rejection of the bill on “foreign influence”, accused of being a copy of the text which organizes repression in Russia. This young woman of 23, born into a family of artists, has become over the weeks one of the known faces of Georgian youth in struggle. This Friday, May 24, in the evening, the march left from Independence Square, in Tbilisi, to reach an annex of the Ministry of the Interior, in order, in particular, to denounce police repression.

>> Beatings, anonymous calls, posters of insults… In Georgia, opposition figures victims of a wave of violent intimidation

Natalia Kopshidze was recently summoned to court for blocking a road, charges she considers “absurd”. More recently, the press devoted other articles to her because she managed to convince her father, until now reluctant, to take sides against the law. “My father did not agree with these demonstrations”but, little by little, “finally convinced”she smiles, savoring this generational victory. “Since I was little, I have always formed my own opinion.”

“I must now succeed with the whole family”, adds Natalia Kopshidze, pointing in particular to Zoura, her actor grandfather. What she doesn’t know at that moment, however, is that her grandpa is finally putting up resistance. On the stage of the Toumanishvili theater, the same evening, he and his troupe will hold up posters to denounce “Russian law”. Georgia’s “Generation Z” has often been described as apolitical. However, it is she who animates the demonstrations and carries along an entire section of society.

Adorned in Georgian, European and American colors, this youth directs its anger against the ruling party, Georgian Dream. She accuses him of cheating with Europe and to spare Russia, under the influence in particular of the businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili. The procession, during its march of several kilometers, had passed very close to the headquarters of the formation. Then, a concert of whistles and boos tore through the night, in front of the police officers who were protecting access to the site.

Georgia submitted its application to the European Union in March 2022 and the process is closely scrutinized. Every progress is welcomed, every setback or setback is ridiculed. The 84 parliamentarians who voted for the text at third reading, in mid-May, are “traitors who sold the country”summarizes Sopo Molachkhia. “This law shows that the government doesn’t care about young people, that it doesn’t care about mecontinues this Arabic language student, who co-leads a student network. The Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, sends his children to study in the West, but we, on the other hand, should we get closer to Russia?

After President Salomé Zourabichvili’s veto, the ball is in the government’s court, which has a sufficient majority to pass in force, probably the week of May 27. In the meantime, some students continued to meet in the evening on the steps of Parliament where teams were erasing the tags from recent weeks.

“I can’t remain a spectatorsummarizes Giorgi Jamerachvili, 22 years old, but suddenly I feel like I’ve always been outside since I was 18.” Two days ago, he went to put stickers and disrupt service at a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. The brand belongs to the Wissol group of Soso Pkhakadze, accused of supporting the law. Students graduating from high school have a tradition of marching in white coats, with superhero names drawn in marker. But this year, for this “bolo zari” (“last bell”), political slogans flourished by the thousands.

The different groups organize their actions on the Signal application, popular in the country. Sopo Molachkhia no longer watches much television, except from time to time the pro-government channels, for “be kept informed of the latest negative information” peddled about the movement. “The government, for example, is very good at flattering the homophobia of Georgian society.” In the demonstrations, journalists from television teams “so like to film men with earrings or girls with blue hair. Once, a neighbor even wrote to me on Facebook: ‘Aren’t you ashamed to be with all these people?’.”

Luka Beraia’s parents mastered the Russian language. He always understands it a little, but never speaks it, preferring English. In 2023, he had already imagined this slogan: “Spirit of Georgian independence shines below the European stars” (“The spirit of Georgian independence shines under the European stars”). The government, officially, is still in favor of European membership, but “we can clearly see that he has changed course”, denounces Luka Beraia. We then ask him if he does not somewhat idealize the European Union. “Of course there can be discussions and disagreements. I read, for example, the debates on federalism or sovereignty… But unlike Russia, Europe does not call into question human rights or ‘equality!’

The history of the country is also etched in his mind. In 2008, during the Russian invasion, Luka Beraia was still only 8 years old. He had to leave his house with his brother and his mother, already displaced in 1992, during the Abkhazian war. Sopo Molachkhia still remembers very well the sound of bombs in her native region of Mingrelia, on the shores of the Black Sea. “One day, as I was going to cross the street, an armored vehicle arrived. I remained frozen, I was paralyzed… I had the impression that I was going to be killed or kidnapped.”

“Our generation is no longer afraid of Russia”, assures Anni Phridonachvili, 18 years old, a Georgian flag on her back. Her mother, based in Italy, supports the movement, while expressing concerns when her daughter participates in the demonstrations. “I think the previous generation is more timid than us, because they experienced the period of the USSR and they saw how April 9, 1989 ended”when an anti-Soviet demonstration was bloodily repressed, with 20 dead and hundreds injured. “We don’t want to experience what our parents experienced with the USSR and then Russia.”

During the last election, young people’s participation did not exceed 30 to 35%, compared to 50% for the general population. “I didn’t go to vote because no party inspired me with confidence,” explains Khatia Janiachvili, 27 years old. Besides, I don’t really regret it, because I’m not convinced that my vote would have changed anything.” On October 26, she will go to the polls so that Georgia can resume its march towards Europe. Which does not prevent the young woman from denouncing the “polarization of political life”with “two parties face to face” for several years: Georgian Dream and the United National Movement of former President Mikheil Saakashvili. “Our generation is not looking for a leader, it is asking for a project.”

“Seven out of ten young people do not identify with current political parties”, confirms Jubo Beridzichvili, author of a study on Generation Z for the NGO ForSet. Many do not even know the names of the different formations. But that does not mean that they are apolitical, since 88% of young people surveyed support integration into the EU.” In Tbilisi, European Union flags hang on every street corner. With the liberalization of the visa system, “Most young Georgians have already visited EU countries. When people who grew up in the Soviet Union explain to them what the EU is, they find it ridiculous.”

“The alternative is experienced by young people as follows: Europe and freedom on one side, Russia and slavery on the other.”

Jubo Beridzichvili, project manager at the NGO ForSet

at franceinfo

“This generation knows very well that joining the EU is a long process. But this law destroys all the efforts.” And if the consequences of this law can be “difficult to understand for the uninitiated”everyone “On the other hand, he understands the danger”when Western institutions “warn Georgia that such a law could compromise the accession procedure”. In total, 400,000 voters will be called to the polls for the first time, which represents 14% of the electorate. “It is now up to political parties to play their role”, adds Jubo Beridzichvili. And this by responding to the aspirations of civil society.

“I understand the legitimate message of youth on the current political offer, also believes Othar Zourabichvili, the brother of the Georgian president, crossed in the procession. We must stop the endless conflicts over which opposition party should become prominent.” The large Georgian diaspora holds one of the keys to the next elections because “she voted very little last time”, estimates the septuagenarian. But he adds that youth, “especially those who vote for the first time”, will also play a very important role in the fate of the election.

“I think that this year, young people have understood the importance of elections. They will not miss the opportunity to use their right,” believes Louka Beraia. But while the NGOs responsible for observing the vote are directly targeted by law, it also calls for the greatest possible participation, in order to limit the risk of fraud. Several students refer to the national football team which qualified for the Euro at the end of March, plunging the country into jubilation. The demonstrators chant the same cry as the players in the locker room: “Where are we going? In Europe!”