Elene Khoshtaria Goes On Hunger Strike as 'New Form of Struggle'
announced
a hunger strike, saying it is a 'new form of struggle.'
'Now that the regime has launched a new attack and arrested practically all of the opposition, I want to declare a new form of struggle — one that is not emotional or thoughtless, but victory-oriented,' Khoshtaria told reporters as she was announcing her 'firm decision' in the evening of June 27 in front of the parliament building on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, the epicenter of ongoing non-stop anti-Georgian Dream protests.
She vowed not to leave Rustaveli Avenue, citing tragic reports of detained protesters losing family members while in custody. At least three inmates have lost parents since their arrest over protests that erupted after Georgian Dream's late-November announcement to halt EU accession. The most recent case is the death of the father of Onise Tskhadadze, a well-known comedian currently on trial for group violence.
'If you can't see the value of life, the value of freedom […] here's my life, here's my freedom too — and you still can't beat us,' Khoshtaria said, addressing the ruling Georgian Dream party. She went on to say in her 'statement to people' that the 'only way' is 'revolution and their overthrow from the street.'
'I can't tell anyone when to take to the streets, go on hunger strike, go to prison, or come out,' Khoshtaria said. 'I can only say this with my example: I am ready to sacrifice myself against the regime — and I will.'
Six people, including five active opposition leaders, have been sentenced to several months in prison in recent days for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission in the Georgian Dream parliament, which they consider illegitimate. Two more are awaiting final rulings while in pre-trial custody.
All three other leaders of the Coalition for Change, an election alliance formed ahead of the 2024 parliamentary vote, which includes Khoshtaria's Droa, are currently jailed: Zurab Japaridze from Girchi – More Freedom has been sentenced to seven months, Ahali's Nika Melia to eight months, while Nika Gvaramia, Ahali's other leader, currently remains in pretrial detention anticipating a similar sentence.
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