NEWS

Gov’t will “not allow disturbances” - PM on Security Service report

Garibashvili said the country's special services were monitoring the situation. Photo: Government Administration

Agenda.ge, 28 Sep 2023 - 17:26, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday said his Government would “not allow any non-entities and enemies inside or outside the country” to “bring about any type of disturbance”, following a report by the State Security Service about an alleged plot for the overthrow of the Government.

The comments came after the Service last week said it had uncovered a plan by officials of the former United National Movement Government to cause “civil unrest” and overthrow the Government using a “Euromaidan scenario” this fall.

Garibashvili said the country's special services were monitoring the situation.

This is a very serious statement. The State Security Service has information that has been deemed appropriate to share with the public at this time. It is not news that certain radical groups have tried and are trying to bring destabilisation, disorder and chaos”, he said.

“[On the alleged plan and] the involvement of the [imprisoned] former President Saakashvili and his radical, anarchist groups - [...] They have never managed to do this, [and] they will never manage to”, the Government head continued.

Garibashvili said “anyone attempting to bring disorder” would “receive exemplary punishment” within the framework of the law.

The Service said it had been monitoring the group, which it said involved Giorgi Lortkipanidze, the former UNM Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and currently the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, Mikheil Baturin, a former member of the security detail of the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the Georgian Legion fighting in the ongoing Ukraine war.

It added the group planned to stage their plans between October and December, through use of public fallout of the potentially negative decision by the European Union bodies on granting Georgia the bloc’s membership candidate status, with the ultimate goal of changing the Government by “violent means”.

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