Recently, Georgia has witnessed large public protests. The country’s situation is complicated because it is caught between the West and Russia. Citizens’ anger was caused by the recently adopted law on foreign agents of influence. According to the new regulations, media outlets and NGOs that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must be registered as institutions that “serve the achievement of the objectives of a foreign state.” For the European Union and the Georgian opposition, this is a clear step towards authoritarianism. The new law caused angry residents to take to the streets of Tbilisi, the country’s capital. Protests also began in other cities, including: Batumi.
During the protests in front of the Georgian Parliament, the police arrested many people, including foreigners. That is why our Foreign Ministry appealed to Poles not to go to the demonstration site.
“The Truth” asked Marcin Rogalski, a resident of Opole, who has a long association with Tbilisi and lives there, about whether the situation is really tense and dangerous. For more than 15 years, he has been running one of the oldest Polish tour companies in Georgia – Georgia Adventure Club DMC. Tell us what the situation is like in the capital and whether tourists should abandon their holidays in this country.
People are concerned about the protests in Georgia
– Recently, a lot of people have contacted me because they are afraid of this situation. It is known that this is not a trivial matter, but in fact it is not as terrible as it seems in the media and social media – says Marcin Rogalski. He works near the site of the protests and says they do not affect the lives of residents.
The problem is big traffic jams, especially in the evening. Tbilisi generally suffers from traffic jams, but with these protests we can even talk about paralysis. A week ago, demonstrations became more peaceful and marches were organized. Google Maps lights up red
– He explains.
Warnings for tourists in Georgia. it’s dangerous?
Although in his opinion the situation is not dangerous, he admits that everyone is concerned about what is happening in the capital of Georgia. However, there is no shortage of tourists. You can see a lot of them. And according to Marcin Rogalski, they have nothing to fear.
— The direction is still safe, but it’s better not to go to the center, because there’s not much to see there anyway with such a crowd. You must follow the embassy’s recommendations. Even if they wanted to push the army into action, there would be a message to that effect first. However, no one here assumes this will happen, he says.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns the Poles. It’s about the protests in Georgia
He also refers to the warning issued by the Polish Foreign Ministry. It is believed that although attention should be paid to them, the police do not deliberately arrest foreigners.
— The officers are merciless in suppressing these demonstrations. They arrest the most active people, the oppositionists. Some even complained of abuse and beatings. However, he stresses that there is no reason to specifically target foreigners, although there have been many arrests in recent days. And sometimes it’s really hot. Recently, there have been attempts to storm Parliament. Pictures also appeared of destroyed cars and clashes with police. – It seems dangerous and social media is full of such shots, but we must remember that this is only a small part of these huge protests – says Marcin Rogalski.
Protests in Georgia are frequent
He confirms that people are very emotional about the new law. Georgians are a temperamental nation. He says that when something happens, everyone suddenly takes to the streets. There are many protests in this country, and they happen often, but not all of them reach foreign media. It’s interesting when Russia is in the background. Marcin Rogalski remembers that in the past his parents used to worry during every protest. “This time they didn’t say anything at all because it’s used to being like that here,” he laughs.
In Georgia as well as in Poland? Marcin Rogalski on the protests
Our interlocutor also sees some similarities with the protests that took place in Poland some time ago. The first is that people show great emotion and that they care about what they are fighting for. – Moreover, it may seem different, but perhaps, just like in Poland, reinforcements are brought in from other parts of the country and not all policemen are experienced in dealing with such a protest crowd. This is where accidents happen, he sums up.
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