Currently, six people continue their hunger strike near the Parliament. Three participants have ended their strike due to health complications.

Among those fasting is Gedevan Fofkhadze, a member of the “Coalition for Change,” who has been on hunger strike for 31 days since declaring this extreme form of protest.

“Some have left, some have joined. There have been some changes over these 31 days. Four of us started the hunger strike from the beginning – Dato Chelidze, Darejan Tskhvitariya, myself, and Vakho Machavariani. Two more people have joined – Badri and Roini. Others, over time, felt unwell and could not continue the protest in this form, so they left. Now there are six of us.For now, our health condition is satisfactory. Our doctor friends are taking care of us and monitoring us. Anzor Melia also conducted some examinations. So we are not neglected and feel normal,” Fofkhadze said.

He added that the authorities aim to suppress and destroy the protest movement in Georgia, intending to establish a Russian-style dictatorship.

“They do not value any form of protest. We are using a form of protest that was a tool of the national movement, and back then the authorities responded by sending tanks. I do not believe anyone can destroy the protest of the Georgian people. This protest will continue and, sooner or later, end in victory. The Georgian people will achieve victory,” Fofkhadze stated.

Regarding whether authorities are concerned about the protesters’ health, Fofkhadze said:

“I don’t think their health is on the government’s agenda. Who cares about our health?”

He also emphasized that this form of protest was not chosen by the participants themselves, but forced upon them by the repressive system established in Georgia by Ivanishvili:

“For a year, the Georgian people have demonstrated that they will not accept either the formalization of a Russian-style dictatorship or the de facto authorities’ attempts to impose rigged elections or the draconian laws passed after the elections. November 28 should also be a day when we all come together to show the world, each other, and the de facto regime that we will not accept the reality they impose. We must defend our country’s future.”

Another hunger striker, Darejan Tskhvitaria, stressed:

“We do not have the right not to fight. There are some health issues; it is the 31st day, but we do not give it importance because our country and our children’s future are in grave danger. This government is taking us back into history. We do not have the right not to fight or only think about ourselves. Above us stands our homeland, our supreme priority, our children’s future, and every Georgian must understand this. Right now, we need unity more than anything because our ancestors never put their swords in the sheath while waiting for the enemy. The enemy is now here, in this Parliament,” Tskhvitaria said.

For reference, Gedevan Fofkhadze began the hunger strike on October 28. Alongside him, Darejan Tskhvitaria and several other activists joined the strike. Their demand is the release of political prisoners and the scheduling of new parliamentary elections.