Georgian PM: Gov’t has “true information” that radical groups plan violent actions against Parliament, police

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday said his Government had “true  information” that the “violent” youth groups, organised by the radical opposition and financed from abroad, were planning to carry out “violent actions” against the Parliament and law enforcement officers in coming days during the protest against the controversial domestic bill on the transparency of foreign influence.

Kobakhidze “warned” every member of the “violent” groups of the radical opposition that “everyone will be amenable to the law for violence” and stressed “they will most likely not be pardoned from the President Salome Zourabichvili as well [in this April Zourabichvili pardoned Lazare Grigoriadis, activist who was sentenced to nine years in prison for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police officers and setting fire to a police vehicle during March 2023 protests in Tbilisi]”.

I would like to thank the law enforcement officers once again for the fact that, despite the large scale and completely unacceptable level of violence during the past few weeks, they acted with higher standards than the American and European”, the PM said and urged the law enforcement officers to show “maximum patience and act with a higher than European standard” when responding to violence and abuse.

He stressed the “harsh forms of response to the violence”, which were “a common occurrence for American and French police” should not be acceptable for Georgian police.

Kobakhidze said there had been “some incidents” which could not be acceptable to anyone and alleged these kinds of incidents would be used by the radical opposition “to cover their planned violence”, adding that law enforcement agencies would respond to any facts of violence and threats.

If the main force of the Georgian Dream party’s rallies was sincere prayer and singing, now the main force of the radical opposition’s rallies is throwing Molotov cocktails and stones. The UNM, which at one time was brought to power by external forces through violence and throwing stones, and one of the main characteristics of which was violence against peaceful protesters while in power, is now using violence from the ranks of the opposition”, Kobakhidze stressed.

“The violence and lack of culture, by which the UNM was distinguished during their governance and now in the opposition, [...] are completely uncharacteristic of Georgian culture. Its establishment in Georgia is related to the black money, which the radical opposition and its foreign friends are fighting for to hide today”, he added.

Today, “as never before”, the Georgian state is sovereign and this sovereignty will be further strengthened, the Head of the Government emphasised.