Georgia Protesters Hail ‘Victory’ Over Christmas Tree Lights

AFP/APP

Tbilisi: Pro-EU demonstrators in Georgia on Saturday forced authorities to postpone the switching-on of festive lights on a tree at the heart of protests outside parliament, hailing this as a “small victory.”

Officials had placed the large, decorated tree at the site used by protesters for nightly rallies against the government. City authorities then scheduled the lighting-up ceremony for 7:00 pm (1500 GMT) Saturday, a few hours after the controversial election of a new president backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party in a vote boycotted by the opposition.

But for some protesters, the timing, decided by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze—a member of Georgian Dream—was seen as a deliberate “provocation.”

Former professional footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili was the only candidate in a vote by an electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream. He is due to be inaugurated on December 29. However, the incumbent president, pro-European Salome Zurabishvili, denounced his election as a “mockery of democracy.” She has already stated that she will not give up her post until the country organizes fresh parliamentary elections.

Protesters have been gathering outside parliament daily since November 28, when the government announced it would suspend talks on EU accession until 2028.

Thousands Protest

Standing in front of parliament, whose facade was also lit up with projections of festive snowflake images, several thousand protesters loudly booed and whistled at the tall tree, deriding ruling party representatives as “slaves.”

Several dozen protesters held up photos of alleged victims of police violence during the last two weeks’ protests, where police have deployed water cannons and tear gas.

At the scheduled time for the lights to be switched on, the mayor announced at a press briefing that the event would be postponed until “the radical opposition” unblocked access for children and made it possible to light up the tree.

Georgia, an Orthodox Christian country, celebrates Christmas on January 7 according to the old Julian calendar, but decorating trees is also a New Year’s tradition, a legacy of the Soviet era.

A cordon of riot police kept supporters of Georgian Dream and pro-EU protesters apart on the avenue near parliament.

The postponement was “a small victory for us,” said Irina Machavariani, who had come to the protest with her mother.

“This showed the authorities can’t do everything just the way they want,” said the private university lecturer. “They have to respect us and we are standing here with a purpose.”

“Yes, it’s a small victory,” agreed Lasha Kvlividze, a 22-year-old student who hopes the protest will “make our ruling party go away.”