Guardians of Rioni Gorge leave Tbilisi, continue protesting at Namakhvani HPP construction site
By Veronika Malinboym
Friday, May 28
“Our struggle will continue in Namakhvani, and it will not be a violent one. We have been participating in this peaceful struggle and will continue to do so this way. We are fighting against the government and others who criticize us and try to marginalize our movement. We will put an end to this, and we will continue to do our job in peace and in a spirit of unity, regardless of the government’s attempts to stop us, divide us and involve us in a confrontation. They won’t succeed. And every single one of us, who is standing here today is a guarantee of that,” Goletiani said.
Protesters have left the capital, returned to Gumati and continued to protest near one of the offices of Enka – a Turkish company in charge of the construction of the HPP. It has been reported that prior to the arrival of the protestors, law enforcement agents have put up metal barricades on the road connecting Rioni to the village of Gumati. Zviad Palavandishvili, one of the local residents, told Netgazeti that police were checking documents of the people who tried to pass through the barricades:
“Some guys from the neighbouring villages were trying to get to the memorial service, the police stopped them, kept them at the checkpoint for an hour, and, after eventually letting them through, told them not to leave their car near Namakhvani or else they would not be allowed to pass back,” Palavandishvili told Netgazeti. Right now, protesters have blocked the passage route near the village of Gumati, although they claim that the passage will only be closed for the cars of the Enka company, and everyone else will be free to move.
“Gorge will only be completely closed for the company, local residents will be free to travel freely,” Goletiani explained.