Angered by Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law, young protesters try new tactic
Al Jazeera
Young demonstrators fight on ahead of October elections in a bid to exhaust the administration behind the controversial measure.
Tbilisi, Georgia – Beads of sweat gather on Zviad Tsetskhladze’s brow as he shouts into a megaphone, his fist clenched in the air on a sweltering summer’s evening.
“Sakartvelo!” the 19-year-old student from the Black Sea city of Batumi bellows – using the native name of Georgia, before continuing with a series of catchy pro-European Union slogans.
There are thousands of protesters in the crowd, snaking their way around Georgia’s towering parliament building in the capital, Tbilisi.
They repeat his words back to him as rows of neatly regimented, stoney-faced police officers look on.
Since April, Georgia, a small mountainous nation located at the intersection of Asia and Europe famed for its rich cuisine and tradition of hospitality, has been rocked by protests in opposition to a controversial “foreign agents” law.
