Political party Girchi leader begs for money at presidential palace in protest

Leader of the political party Girchi Zurab Japaridze is begging for money at the presidential palace in central Tbilisi to show the public that ‘many in Georgia are starving’ during the pandemic. 

Holding a poster with an inscription ‘I have not eaten for six days’ Japaridze accused the Georgian government of imposing ‘many idiotic’ restrictions which have brought the country to ‘nationwide hunger.’ 

Most of our people are starving. The people who have savings think that the problems will be over soon. However, this will not happen,” Japaridze said. 

He stated that he deliberately chose the presidential palace to express his protest. 

Sometimes people forget that the woman [referring to President Salome Zurabishvili], who came to Georgia to have rest and spend her pension years, is also responsible for the nationwide starvation,” Japaridze said. 

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Girchi is a libertarin party, and is well-known for its outlandish awareness raising demonstrations, which have included opening a brothel in its headquarters and planting marijuana seeds on New Year’s Eve.