Opinion: 'They’re banning people from walking on pavement. On what grounds?'
On protest marches in Georgia
Commenting on the restrictive measures used by police during protests in central Tbilisi, former head of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association Nika Swimoniashvili says demonstrators are now being prevented from moving not only along the roadway but even on the pavement — a practice, he stresses, that has no basis in law.
On 16 October, the ruling Georgian Dream party approved new legislative amendments under which covering one’s face with a mask or blocking a road during a protest can be punished with up to 15 days of administrative detention. But authorities have gone further, attempting to extend these restrictions to pavements as well.
According to Swimoniashvili, the arguments offered by law enforcement to justify these measures simply do not stand up to scrutiny.
Nika Simonishvili says police no longer allow protesters to block roads, prompting demonstrators to adopt a more mobile approach — replacing static rallies with protest marches. This format, he argues, has proved so effective that Georgian Dream has grown visibly uncomfortable with the sight of so many dissenting citizens on Tbilisi’s streets. “That’s why they’ve started creating new obstacles,” he says.
“What will they do on 28 November — the anniversary of the government’s decision to halt Georgia’s EU integration process — when thousands of people take to the streets again? Will they once more deploy police along the pavements and try to curtail freedom of assembly? It won’t work. Thousands will come out on 28 November to show again that they reject what Georgian Dream is doing.”
“In effect, the authorities are banning people from walking freely on the pavement. And I stress: not on the roadway, but on the pavement. How does that fit into any legal framework? They cannot cite a single lawful basis for this restriction — no such provision exists in any legislation.”
Simonishvili argues that Georgian Dream’s heavy-handed tactics have achieved nothing. Changing the form of protest has not delivered the victory the party hoped for. And even if the authorities try to obstruct future marches, he says, the protest movement will simply adapt and take on a new shape.
On protest marches in Georgia
