Ruling party says ‘destructive opposition’ attempted to use June 20 protest for ‘own political purposes’

The ruling Georgian Dream party has stated that one year ago on this day ‘an unfortunate mistake' made by the authorities was followed by public protest.

In a statement released today the ruling party said the authorities acknowledged their mistake, while ‘the destructive opposition attempted to use this protest for their own political purposes and turned the wave of protest into a violent demonstration’.

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It said that opposition launched ‘an intense assault on the parliament building and police forces, and, in effect, attempted to overthrow the government by force’.

Despite the fact that the attempted violent intrusion into the parliament building was broadcast live by all television channels and unmistakable evidence was gathered against the organisers and active participants of the assault, for a long time, the opposition – in their characteristically insolent manner –  denied the facts that all of Georgia saw with their own eyes”, the ruling party said.

It added as well that ‘while repelling the attack that targeted the main institution of state, police forces – which were operating under the legal regime of necessary repulsion – were acting in line with the authority provided for by Georgian legislation’.

Unfortunately, both the participants of the protest rally, as well as police officers, sustained severe physical injuries during the operation to disperse the demonstration that had gone beyond the legal framework. Representatives of the media also sustained injuries in the process”, the statement says.

The ruling party noted in its statement that as a result of the June 20-21 developments, the Georgian authorities have ‘successfully passed the test of democracy and left no instance of the use of excessive force by the police without a legal response’.

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At the same time, the ruling party said, ‘they did everything possible to restore the health of those who had sustained injuries in the process’.

Today, one year after these tragic events, once the emotions have cooled off and we can judge the events in a detached manner, the contrast between the authorities, which are effective, loyal to democracy, and mindful of their people's needs, and the forces that are focused on destruction and returning to power at any cost becomes even more evident”, the ruling party said.

Stressing that they feel public support and responsible for future of Georgia, the Georgian Dream hopes it will ‘successfully overcome all challenges, oppose the destructive agenda of the opposition, and attain a convincing victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections’.

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On June 20, 2019 a rally triggered by the presence of Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov in the Georgian parliament was dispersed by police after demonstrators ignored the appeal of the Interior Ministry to obey law enforcers and decided to break into the parliament building.