TBILISI -- As the air grew heavier with tear gas and billowing clouds of smoke, the masked protester ran toward riot police, shooting his homemade weapon from the hip. His improvised device, a rotating barrel akin to a makeshift Gatling gun, unleashed a rapid volley of fireworks.
Such tactics could be a thing of the past, as the ruling Georgian Dream party is expected to fast-track new laws through parliament this week that would ban protesters from possessing fireworks and covering their faces at demonstrations.
For 13 days, Georgians have gathered nightly in downtown Tbilisi, as well as other cities around the country, to protest the government's decision to put EU accession negotiations on hold until 2028. In Tbilisi, the protesters' use of fireworks to fight back against riot police armed with tear gas and water cannons has become a defining symbol of the demonstrations.
This latest round of protests follows disputed October 26 parliamentary elections that were won by Georgian Dream, the ruling party in power since 2012 that has been accused by critics of becoming increasingly more authoritarian. Georgia's pro-European opposition leader and President Salome Zurabishvili say the elections were rigged with the help of Russia.
While protesters have insisted they are using fireworks in self-defense, the Interior Ministry has said many of its officers have been injured in the ongoing protests.
"These [recent protests] have shown us the importance of acting quickly, both in regulating pyrotechnics and in banning disguises at public gatherings," Georgian Dream parliamentary Chairman Shalva Papuashvili said on December 9.
Fireworks are already hard to find in Tbilisi, with many pyrotechnic stores sold out and others being ordered to close. At least some of the legislative changes governing pyrotechnics could come into effect by the beginning of February.
Under these changes, demonstrators will be prohibited from carrying fireworks at public gatherings and rallies, and a permit will be required to import, export, produce, and sell pyrotechnic products in Georgia. Fines will reportedly be imposed for violating the rules. The draft laws have not yet been uploaded to the parliament's website, and further details are not known.
"The ban on wearing masks indirectly restricts people's freedom of assembly," says Saba Brachveli, a lawyer at the Georgia-based Civil Society Foundation.
"They are punishing people for wearing gas masks and not breathing the gas they release," he says, a reference to the Georgian riot police's extensive use of tear gas.
Attacks On Media
For many protesters, the proposal on banning face coverings is particularly ironic given that Georgian riot police, who have been widely accused of excessive violence against demonstrators, are themselves wearing masks.
Black-clad men in masks attacked a crew from the opposition TV Pirveli during a live broadcast on December 7. Journalist Maka Chikhladze and cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli were both hospitalized with concussions and are currently receiving treatment at a Tbilisi hospital.
The TV station has labeled the attackers as "titushky" -- a term used for government-hired thugs -- and accused senior Interior Ministry officials of orchestrating the attack.
Since the start of the protests at the end of November, violence against the opposition and journalists has become more common, attracting condemnation from the United States and the European Union. On December 4, Georgian law enforcement conducted raids on the offices of several opposition parties, protest leaders, and rights activists.
"Besides wearing masks, none of [the security forces] have any identification [numbers]," lawyer Brachveli says, which can make it easier for police to act with impunity. The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends uniformed personnel wear badges and nameplates or other identification in a visible location at all times during crowd-management operations.
Public Sector Revolt
Georgian Dream party officials have also announced plans to "simplify reorganization" in the public sector, a move critics say could facilitate politically motivated dismissals of state employees who oppose the party's EU policy stance.
Hundreds of state officials have signed statements criticizing the government's decision to delay EU negotiation talks until 2028. Employees from multiple agencies, including the Defense, Education, and Foreign ministries, and Tbilisi City Hall, have publicly opposed this decision.
"This change will simply legalize the dismissal of people from their jobs due to [their] political views," Brachveli says. "This destroys both labor rights and freedom of expression."
Georgian Dream is also pushing a new draft law that would change the requirements for recruiting police officers. According to Georgian media reports, the changes would mean the Interior Ministry will have the authority to hire a person to work for the police without going through a competitive recruitment process.
Natia Mezvrishvili, one of the leaders of the opposition For Georgia party and a former deputy interior minister, says, "It seems that [billionaire Georgian Dream founder Bidzina] Ivanishvili has decided to officially accept informal masked thugs into the police force, and this is what prompted the change in the police law. With this change, everyone who steps foot in the police force can become a police officer."
Zurab Girchi Japaridze, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change bloc, dubbed the proposed changes to the police and public service laws as "stages of a dictatorship."
