10 years on from November 2007 political crisis in Georgia
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Ten years have passed since the people of Georgia experienced a day regarded as the worst political crisis in Georgia in the past decade.
On November 7, 2007 a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia and ended with protesters being dispersed by police who used tear gas and water cannons.
A total of 508 people were taken to hospital when riot police dispersed thousands of protesters in various parts of capital Tbilisi.
An opposition supporter speaks to police during a rally in front of Parliament Building in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. Photo from REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili
Demonstrations
Demonstrations started on September 28, 2007. It peaked on November 2 when up to 100,000 people gathered in front of Parliament Building in central Tbilisi. Protesters urged then-president Mikheil Saakashvili to step down. The protests were organised by a coalition involving major oppositional political parties.
At the time Saakashvili accused the Russian Secret Service of being involved in an attempted coup d’etat. He declared a nationwide state of emergency that lasted for 15 days.
Protesters clash with police during a rally in front of Parliament Building in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. Photo from REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili
Attack on TV company
Earlier on November 7, 2007, riot police attacked Tbilisi-based Imedi TV while a news program was being broadcast live on air. Police officers in masks and carrying assault rifles were seen sealing off the office. The broadcaster, which the then-government claimed was biased and pro-opposition, was subsequently switched off.
Early elections
The next day Saakashvili announced an early Presidential Election for January 5, 2008, as a compromise to the solution.
International evaluation
When photos of the rally dispersal spread around the world, the international society criticised Saakashvili’s government for using heavy-handed tactics against protesters.
They evaluated November 2007 as the worst political crisis in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in 2003.
PM Kvirikashvili's Facebook post. The caption says: "It will never repeat!"
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili posted a picture of the rally dispersal on his Facebook page this afternoon with the caption that such thing will never happen again in the country.
On November 7, 2007 a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia and ended with protesters being dispersed by police who used tear gas and water cannons. A total of 508 people were taken to hospital when riot police dispersed thousands of protesters.
November 7 is one of the hardest days of Georgia’s recent history, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says.
Georgia’s Prime Minister says November 7 is a date that people will never forget or forgive United National Movement for.
November 2007 mass rallies against then-President Mikheil Saakashvili and his government, the brutal dispersal of peaceful protesters and an attack on Imedi TV are still relevant today, as former Georgian top officials have been charged for the incidents of 2007.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has posthumously awarded former MP and leader of the People’s Party Koba Davitashvili with the medal of honour. Davitashvili, who died aged 49 in 2020, was kidnapped and severely beaten during the opposition rally in 2007 under the United National Movement government.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has already been taken to Tbilisi City Court to attend a trial hearing concerning the illegal dispersal of an opposition rally in central Tbilisi on November 7, 2007 in which Saakashvili is charged with the abuse of power, IPN says. Neither journalists, nor opposition activists are allowed into the court’s yard. The law enforcement are present at the scene to ensure safety.
Fifteen opposition activists, including opposition leader Gigi Ugulava, were arrested at a rally near Tbilisi City Court for disobeying police orders earlier today during a trial concerning former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili was allowed to attend the hearing in person, which concerns illegal dispersal of an opposition rally back in 2007, for the first time since his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1. Before the hearing took place, Saakashvili said that he distrusts the Georgian court, noting that he ‘would have used the opportunity’ to address the public.
Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian parliament’s vice speaker, on Monday reacted to the anniversary of the November 7, 2007 violent dispersal of protesters in Tbilisi by United National Movement by saying the date reminded the public of the “methods used” by the previous government and the “current so-called main opposition”, and stressing “this should never happen again”.
Georgia’s imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday demanded to be allowed an “opportunity to openly take part in political processes” through “open debates”, and urged the public to “stand up” for his support.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday condemned the “authoritarian rule” of the previous United National Movement Government on the anniversary of the violent dispersal of a peaceful anti-Government rally in Tbilisi in 2007.