'We stand in solidarity with every victim': Georgian Club Scene Backs Anti-Government Protests
Clubs including Bassiani, Mtkvarze, Left Bank, KHIDI and TES released a joint statement urging "every citizen to join the demonstrations."
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Pillar venues of the Georgian club scene closed their doors over the weekend in solidarity with ongoing anti-government protests.
Shared on Instagram last Friday, November 29th, a collective statement from seven Tbilisi venues—Bassiani, Mtkvarze, Left Bank, TES, KHIDI, Cafe-Gallery and Tbili orgia—urged "every citizen to join the demonstrations" against the country's "illegitimate government." The post took aim at the ruling Georgian Dream party for rejecting "the will of the Georgian people to join the European family."
Similar statements have since been shared by other prominent members of the city's music scene. Mutant Radio said that the station will be on hiatus until further notice, "because there can be no culture, no freedom of expression, and no Mutant Radio without true freedom." Meanwhile, promoter Eau De Cologne demanded "a return to the path of European integration, ensuring Georgia's future is aligned with democracy, prosperity and the values of the European Union."
The latest round of protests against Georgian Dream erupted last Thursday, November 28th, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend talks on accession to the EU for four years. Tens of thousands have since taken to the street, and at least 224 people have been arrested after clashes with police, Amnesty International reports.
Amid the protests, members of the international club community have also expressed their support for those demonstrating on the ground in Tbilisi. The team behind Berlin community radio station Refuge Worldwide, who were recently in town to perform at Left Bank, attended the protests after a planned show was cancelled due to the unrest. "We wish the people of Georgia continued strength in the coming weeks as they fight for the future of the country," they wrote on Instagram. Ukrainian DJ Nastia, who was due to play at KHIDI over the weekend, expressed her "full solidarity with Georgian people who care for their future and opportunities."
Georgia's club scene has been vocal in its criticism of Georgian Dream policies like the "foreign agents" bill, which sparked protests back in May. Further demonstrations took place before and after the party's highly-contested parliamentary election victory in October.
Revisit our recent video explainer on the situation in Georgia, and read the aforementioned posts in full.
Article Originally Found At: www.ra.co