Gedevan Popkhadze: If necessary, I will give my life in this struggle; we must be prepared for any sacrifice to preserve Georgia’s freedom

“If necessary, I will fall in this struggle; I fear neither prison nor liquidation, and we must unite with the understanding that we may need to make any sacrifice to preserve Georgia’s freedom,” Gedevan Popkhadze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, has declared.

According to him, there are people in society who are prepared to choose death in the fight for freedom over living in servitude.

“Much depends on us as well. I can tell you directly and with absolute sincerity in public that I will defend this at the cost of my life, because living in a Georgia where this reality holds is not worth it to me. I have no problem with prison, nor with the regime liquidating me. If necessary, I will give my life in this struggle. I have fully internalised this, and I believe there are people like this on this flank. If this becomes a national choice and we say that we prefer dying in the fight for freedom to living in servitude, and I believe this is part of our genetic code, then of course. While this may not represent every single person, there are people in this society who are ready to prefer death in the struggle for freedom over life in slavery. As for the methods of struggle: greater discipline during street protests, elevating the scale and quality of street protests, greater efforts to demonstrate that we are prepared for anything, and rallying people around this principle. We must unite with the feeling that we may be arrested, we may be killed, and we may need to make any sacrifice to preserve freedom for Georgia’s population and its future. Protests must continue with this mindset, and it must be a deeply conscious and highly contagious protest, because in such a reality, dying in battle is genuinely better than living,” Popkhadze said.

In his view, society is safeguarded against rebellion, revolution, and public unrest only when a legal framework exists within the country.

Popkhadze added that when you strip people of the right to change the government through elections, you effectively tell them that the country’s freedom lies through rebellion rather than through the ballot box.

“The price is exceedingly heavy. Here we are no longer talking merely about reputational damage. When you abolish electoral democracy, you destroy the legal space for the Georgian people to fight for freedom, leaving people with only one single form of political struggle available to them. I understand the roots of terrorism well and why it emerges. Of course, such a step is inherently detrimental, even malicious, but as a rule, it is provoked by stripping political space away from people with dissenting views. We must understand that we are protected against rebellion, revolution, and civil unrest when we establish a legal environment in the country. When a constitutional order exists within a country, and there is a genuine opportunity to change the government through the ballot box, discussing any alternative path is met with an unambiguously negative reception. But when you take this away from the people, you leave them no other choice; you tell them directly that the country’s freedom lies through rebellion, not through elections,” Gedevan Popkhadze stated on the Palitranews broadcast.