The nation is in a deep sleep and has no intention of waking up. The regime is rushing the country toward Russia at the speed of light.

I tell the nation: while my 19-year-old son is in prison and your 16- and 17-year-olds are not, come out here and defend the future of this country—because tomorrow will be too late. I hope from now on people will wake up and see that our country is truly dying. Don’t sleep in your homes!

This is what Zurab Tsetskhladze, father of Zviad Tsetskhladze who was detained during the protests, said at the rally near Parliament. He also commented on the number of people attending the protest and said that people are afraid of being arrested or fined.

“There are more banners than people. This is a shame for the nation. Fifty people are in prison—19-year-old boys—and not even 50 people showed up to support them. Do you know what’s happening in the country? The nation is sleeping, deeply asleep, and has no intention of waking up. The government, the regime, is dragging this country toward Russia at the speed of light. The roads to Europe are cut off, nothing is left. We were so close to visa liberalization, and now that’s basically gone too. The regime doesn’t even have the courage to call the occupier by name. Mindless bureaucrats are mocking the nation—the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, MPs—they’re making fun of the people and saying, ‘It’s good if they cancel visa liberalization, people will return to the villages and take care of them.’ Do you know what that means for the country? It means we’re worth nothing. We truly deserve nothing—not independence, not freedom, not a European future. We’re being suffocated in rotten Russia...

Until it knocks on everyone’s door, I guess people think it doesn’t concern them. I’m telling the nation: while my 19-year-old son is in prison and your 16- and 17-year-olds are not, come out and defend the future of this country—because tomorrow will be too late. The police standing here—if this continues, their children won’t be able to go to Europe anymore. No one will. And what will we end up with? Georgia, rotting in Russia, called one of its provinces, with no future whatsoever.

What I see here is complete absurdity. The regime mocks the nation, drags the country toward Russia, and the people sleep. They’re too lazy to come out and speak. It’s not even about whether someone’s in danger or not—no one is. They’re just too lazy to come. They say, ‘We’ll be arrested, we’ll be fined.’ My 19-year-old son is in prison, I was fired from my job, my father died, and four days later my son was arrested. I’ve been fined 17 times, and here I stand, in front. Maybe everyone has to go through what I did to understand what this country is facing. It's sad that we have no strength left. We’re no different from the ‘Georgian Dream’ supporters—we’re cowards, nothing more. Do you know why we’re cowards? Because we’re “humane,” we can’t stand up to anyone. We can’t even block a highway because we’re afraid of being arrested. If [Zviad Tsetskhladze] had thought that way, he’d still be at home,” said Tsetskhladze.