“Thirty-five years ago, on this day, March 31, the Georgian citizens across the whole territory of Georgia, including in occupied Abkhazia and Samachablo, expressed their unwavering will and supported the restoration of Georgia’s independence, which was declared back on May 26, 1918,” reads the statement of the Opposition Alliance.

According to the statement, both dates, March 31 and May 26, are crucial in the history of independent Georgia and are related to the most significant challenge, state independence.

“We believe that Georgia faces the same challenge today. Therefore, on this day, March 31, we launch a joint, national mobilization campaign. This is our initiative, but the endeavour is not ours exclusively. It is something everyone has to do.

“Our goals are simple: Firstly, we should increase direct, face-to-face communication with citizens. Secondly, we should neutralize the regime’s propaganda. The two chief weapons that the regime possesses are falsehood and fear. The third is anger, protest and wish for changes, which have existed in society for years, should be transformed into actual political action. Fourth, we should defeat fear, which this regime has deliberately instilled over the years. We should increase the number of people engaged in protest; changes do not occur through mere talk. They require standing together in the same way as we united at the March 31 referendum 35 years ago,” reads the statement.

The Opposition Alliance added that the campaign would continue for 2 months and culminate on May 26, Independence Day, with a large-scale rally in Tbilisi.

“For us, the engagement of other political, civic groups and active civilians is significant. We would like to commend those individuals who are imprisoned, those who were released from captivity, who were tortured, poisoned, physically assaulted, those who lost their jobs and were left without a source of income, whose life was ruined, those who stand on Rustaveli in Tbilisi and other cities, in Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Gori, Chkhorotsku, those to participate in Saturday marches. We are honoured to be with you in this fight.

We do not promise anyone an easy path; we do not promise anyone miracles. But we know one thing for sure: if we stop, there will be no change; if we act, regime change will only be a matter of time and cost. Therefore, we propose to join this campaign and once again convene on May 26 in Tbilisi,” reads the statement.