There are moments when politics ceases to be abstract. In Georgia, that moment did not arrive through parliamentary debate or official statements, but through burning eyes, poisoned air, chemically washed streets, and the screams of citizens. In late 2024 and early 2025, thousands of Georgians took to the streets to protest.
Protestors believed that decisions made by the Government endangered the country’s democratic development and its long-declared European path. These demonstrations were civic and overwhelmingly peaceful. People protested because they felt excluded from decisions shaping their future. The government’s response was not dialogue, the natural reflex of any government confident in its democratic legitimacy.
Police forces repeatedly deployed tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons to disperse crowds. These measures did not affect protesters alone; journalists, volunteer medics, and ordinary residents were also exposed. What should have been a conversation between society and power became a display of force. Participation in public life began to feel like a personal risk.
The Investigation That Changed the Narrative
Then came the investigation by the BBC. The BBC examined what chemicals were used during the 2024–25 protests. Journalists interviewed protesters, medics, chemical experts, and whistleblowers from within the police. Their reporting suggested that bromobenzyl cyanide, also known as camite, a World War I era chemical irritant long phased out, was used - mixed into water cannons.
Camite is significantly stronger than modern tear gas and can be toxic. Historically used in warfare, it was abandoned due to its severe and lasting health effects. Protesters described intense burning sensations, violent coughing, and breathing difficulties, symptoms far exceeding those typically associated with standard riot-control agents.
The BBC documentary, When Water Burns, raised the possibility that chemical irritants were added directly to water cannon systems, increasing their potency and risk. Such allegations raised profound questions about compliance with international norms. Konstantine Gagnidze, former president of the Young European Federalists in Georgia, stated that the effects experienced by protesters were far stronger than those caused by conventional tear gas.
Denial, Deflection, and Democratic Responsibility
Many reported symptoms that persisted well beyond the protests themselves. Observers on the ground noted that what was sprayed from the cannons did not appear to be ordinary water. The Government’s reaction followed a familiar pattern. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze dismissed the BBC investigation as absurd and false, describing it as politically motivated.
Kobakhidze insisted that the Interior Ministry had never purchased or deployed camite and rejected allegations that such substances were used against protesters. At the same time, he acknowledged that an additive had been mixed into water cannons but declined to specify its nature, stating that clarification would come only after an internal investigation by the State Security Service.
Rather than focusing solely on clarifying the chemical evidence, authorities opened investigations into individuals who contributed to the BBC report, including journalists, medics, and civil society representatives, on charges such as “exceeding official powers” or “assisting foreign entities.” A government that claims to represent stability and democratic values responded to scrutiny by treating it as a threat.
A Moment That Will Not Be Forgotten
This is a moment Georgia cannot forget. Democracy is not measured by how firmly a government controls the streets, but by how it responds when citizens fill them. People remember who faced them with courage and who confronted them with fear. History will remember as well, not the speeches or denials, but the pain endured, the bravery shown, and the choices made by those in power.
The Georgian people were tested in these streets. They were found wounded, but not broken. If anything, they emerged more determined, even as Europe was found missing. And perhaps this is the lesson to be repeated, again and again, like Cato the Elder concluding every speech in ancient Rome with his warning about Carthage: “Furthermore, I think that the European Union must be federalised.”
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