Security Service has evidence of “grave provocations against state” - Deputy Interior Minister
Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said all agencies in the country responsible for public safety “must do everything to prevent the development of such events”. Photo: Interior Ministry press office
Tweet 
Share
Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia, on Monday claimed the country’s State Security Service had obtained evidence of a “grave provocation against the state”, in response to the body’s statement over trainings of domestic groups for “anti-Government actions” planned this fall.
Darakhvelidze’s comment came after the Service on Monday said the East-West Management Institute of the United States Agency for International Development programme had funded activists Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Djinovic from Canvas - an NGO founded in 2005 in Serbia - to hold trainings for Georgian civic groups and individuals for the alleged goal.
The Service said the trainings had been held by the individuals in Tbilisi in late September, for the benefit of a “large group” planning “unrest” in the country in November and December.
In his comments Darakhvelidze said it was a “fact” that a “serious provocation and conspiracy” had been planned against the state, and added all agencies in the country responsible for public safety “must do everything to prevent the development of such events”.
In its response to the allegations on Monday, the US Embassy to Georgia rejected the USAID’s engagement in the developments as “false” and stressed the claims “fundamentally mischaracterised” the goals of the country’s assistance to Georgia.
USAID has been supporting the Georgian people since 1992. As always, our assistance is transparent, and we welcome any opportunities to discuss any concerns the government may have”, the Embassy stressed.
The diplomatic office also noted the USAID had collaborated with Canvas for more than two years to “help people to speak up for the issues that matter to their families and communities”, and noted “despite these unwarranted attacks, we will continue to support Georgian organisations who support people to secure the future they determine and deserve and to secure their fundamental rights guaranteed by the Georgian constitution”.
Canvas Georgia also rejected the allegations and accused the authorities of “exercising pressure” on its leadership for campaigning against its specific decisions or bills.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said his Government would not allow “any disturbance or destabilisation” in the country by “destructive and radical” forces, in a comment following the State Security Service’s comment that alleged trainings of certain civil groups with the goal of organising an “unrest” this fall.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Monday urged the United States Agency for International Development to respond to allegations by the country’s State Security Service that said the Agency’s East-West Management Institute had funded trainings in Tbilisi last month for causing “unrest” in the country this fall.
Iraikli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said Georgia was a “sovereign, independent” state where the Government would ensure “peace and tranquillity” and “not allow either a revolution or [an opening of] a second front [amid the war in Ukraine]”.
The Georgian State Security Service on Monday claimed “top managerial representatives” from the Belgrade-based Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies had been invited to Georgia by the East-West Management Institute of the United States Agency for International Development programme last month to “train domestic civil groups and individuals for a planned unrest” in Tbilisi this fall.
Iraikli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the response of the United States Embassy in Georgia to the statement of the country’s State Security Service’s that alleged an US state programme’s funding of trainings of certain civil groups in Georgia with the alleged goal of organising an “unrest” in the country this fall was “concerning”, as “the public expects to hear from the Embassy that revolutionary processes will not be supported”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday commented on the draft amendments to the law of Georgia on Assemblies and Manifestations and said “it is our obligation to prevent unrest” in the country both at the legislative and practical levels, as “revolutionary” actions were planned this fall.
The Georgian Parliament on Wednesday approved amendments in the domestic Law on Assembly and Manifestation banning installation of “temporary constructions” during rallies on specific occasions in the first of three readings.
Givi Mikanadze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Education and Science Committee, on Thursday said amendments to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, on review by the legislative body, were focused on the “protection of human life” and “in no way” restricted “peaceful assembly and demonstrations”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday alleged the United States Agency for International Development had known about the “false data” of the parallel vote count released by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy during Georgia’s 2020 Parliamentary Elections and had chosen to “hide” the fact from Georgian citizens.
Aleksandre Dararkhvelidze, the Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia, on Tuesday briefed a conference hosted in Tbilisi as part of the European Union-funded Prometheus project about measures taken by his office to combat illegal migration and unwarranted asylum claims following the 2017 EU-Georgia visa-free travel agreement.