Georgia's Youth Dominates Pro-Europe Street Protests

Tbilisi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2024) Georgian youths have dominated a week of street protests against plans for a "foreign influence" law and are increasingly vocal about affinity for the European Union and Western values.

For the fifth straight night Friday, hundreds of young protesters marched in the capital Tbilisi to make their voices heard.

After one speaker asked them through a loudspeaker "Where are we heading?" they waved EU flags and set off a chorus of vuvuzelas, chanting "To Europe!"

Georgia has been rocked by street protests since Monday against the ruling Georgian Dream party's plan to a "foreign influence" law resembling Russian legislation used to silence dissent.

The initiative has sparked outrage in Georgia and concern in the West, with Brussels warning it would undermine the country's long-standing bid for EU membership.

Thousands rallied outside parliament against the bill this week, and fresh mass protests are planned for early May, when lawmakers give the bill its second reading.

And out of these protests, a youth movement has emerged that is passionately pro-European and uncompromising when it comes to defending Georgia's fragile democracy.