On March 16, 1999, the protest of those poisoned during the April 9, 1989, demonstration crackdown began. For 10 years, they had been demanding legal status and budget allocations for medical treatment. As the newspaper Droni reported, a March 29, 1993 decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, signed by Tengiz Sigua, granted April 9 victims several benefits: free medical treatment, transportation, sanatorium vouchers, as well as privileges for telephone installation and employment. However, over time, with the rise of new categories of beneficiaries, the poisoned victims were forgotten.

In 1998, the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Social Affairs revisited the issue and passed a new resolution requiring the creation of a 50% benefits system within two weeks. Yet no results followed.

“For 4–5 years, not even a symbolic tetri has been allocated for us, yet out of 1,453 poisoned victims, 168 require annual treatment. Many are first- and second-degree invalids,” said Vaja Mamulashvili, director of the April 9 Fund.

In early March 1999, the victims held a warning protest. They were promised that Parliament would address their concerns. The Health and Social Affairs Committee forwarded the matter to the Ministers of Health and Finance, but by March 25, there were still no results. The Georgian Charity Fund for Social Protection had repeatedly petitioned Parliament, requesting legislative amendments to include April 9 victims in the same category of disabled persons as those injured during combat for Georgia’s independence and territorial integrity, thereby granting them corresponding benefits.

On April 30, 1999, the Georgian Parliament passed the law “On the Recognition of Victims of the April 9, 1989 Crackdown on a Peaceful Demonstration Demanding Georgia’s Independence, and on Guarantees of Their Social Protection.” The law entitled April 9 victims to exemptions on utilities, healthcare, transport, and electricity, among others. However, the victims stated the law was never implemented in practice.

As a result, on April 6, 2000, those poisoned in the April 9 crackdown gathered again, demanding the enforcement of the law and access to the promised benefits. “Not a single tetri has been allocated from the city budget for our benefits,” reiterated Vaja Mamulashvili of the April 9 Fund.