Greta Thunberg appeared at an anti-government rally in Tbilisi on November 4. “I am here to support the fight for democracy and freedom of the Georgian people,” the Swedish climate activist told RFE/RL. Thousands marched in the streets of the Georgian capital, demanding a rerun of the October 26 parliamentary elections. President Salome Zurabishvili and the opposition believe the polls were rigged. After international observers documented vote buying and double voting, Georgian authorities said they launched investigations into 47 cases of suspected election fraud.
Day: November 4, 2024
- Greta Thunberg joins rally against Georgia’s government POLITICO Europe
- Georgian Opposition Stages New Protest Over Election Result U.S. News & World Report
- ‘We need clarity more than ever’: Georgia’s murky elections and the West’s dilemma FRANCE 24 English
On November 5, thousands gathered to protest what they call rigged elections, marching from the Train Station Square to the Rustaveli Avenue, which was closed for traffic as more and more people arrived. The rally featured Georgian and EU flags and began with the national hymn.
The opposition leaders announced the non-stop protests to demand new elections, and announced a threefold plan of actions: 1) Inform all Georgian citizens about the fraud, deception and machinations used by Georgian Dream to steal elections. 2) Ensure that international partners don’t recognize the rigged elections. 3) Continue democratic resistance, civic activism, street protests.
Prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Tunberg who arrived in Georgia on the morning of November 5, was spotted at today’s rally. She expressed her solidarity with the Georgians’ struggle for democracy. After the end of the rally protesters march to the Baratashvili bridge, blocking the right bank of the river Mtkvari, one of the main traffic arteries of the city. The march continued through the streets of Tbilisi towards Marjanishvili metro station.
Another rally is planned for November 5, 14:00 near the Sports Palace.
The muted tones were once just as bright, probably purple and yellow, but they were made with aniline dyes which are notoriously weak and prone to fade and bleed. The Kustar Committee tried to prohibit the use of aniline in Caucasian carpets from 1903, 3/4
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) November 4, 2024
You can see the bright-as-day orange and blues as well as the muted greenish beige and grey. The bright colours are alizarine dyes, colour fast and stable. They were possibly made in the dye workshop of the Caucasian Kustar Committee, which was built in 1912. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/hXhGnrOW0Y
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) November 4, 2024