Georgia’s Interior Ministry has announced the arrest of 13 people in conjunction with following elections in the capital, Tbilisi, on October 4. The five organizers of the rally had already been arrested and accused of attempting to overthrow the government and violence against the state and law enforcement. The ruling Georgian Dream party claimed that the unrest was a coup attempt, and warned that people who engaged in clashes with the police would be prosecuted. He accused the European Union of “meddling” in affairs and claimed that the opposition was supported by “foreign intelligence services.”
The authorities claim that there is a link between the unrest on October 4 and the daily protests in front of the Georgian Parliament that have been taking place for almost a year. But opponents of the government say that the events last week are being used as another pretext for repression. There is a rising concern in civil society that there will be another clampdown on dissent.
‘Deceived and exploited’
On October 4, police responded to protests in front of the Orbeliani Palace, the president’s official residence. Tens of thousands of protesters had gathered for a “peaceful revolution,” but then there was a call from the stage to occupy state institutions. Some demonstrators managed to break through a fence and tried to get into the presidential palace. The police reacted with water cannons and tear gas. Officially, there were casualties on both sides.
Opposition politicians had called for a boycott of the elections, saying they would be rigged. But Lelo and For Georgia, which is led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, decided to take part in the elections. At the same time, they supported the peaceful protests.
Many protesters left the rally after a call to storm the presidential palace; others continued to demonstrate peacefully.
Tornike Sharashenidze, from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, said the attempt to storm the Orbeliani Palace was an act of desperation. “Perhaps they were hoping for a split in the ruling party,” he told DW. “That some police officers would defect to their side. When that didn’t happen, they decided to storm the palace, which they apparently thought was unguarded. On October 4, those opposition forces who believed that the government can only be overthrown by force saw their chance. But they failed.”
Political analyst Gela Vasadze suspects that the unrest was provoked. “I know almost all of the protest organizers personally. I don’t believe that they themselves are provocateurs. Someone deceived and exploited them,” he told DW, adding that in this way the narrative put forward by the authorities that the opposition was planning a coup was confirmed.
Several Georgian activists have warned against provocateurs on social media. Though they have not named names, some believe that the unrest was staged by the government to provide a pretext to discredit and arrest opponents.
Many protesters were surprised by the call to storm the presidential palace. They have accused the organizers of irresponsibility. Vasadze said that many felt used: “We are experiencing the complete political bankruptcy of the opposition,” he said. “It is clear it is completely incapable of responding to the challenges.”
Some observers say anybody involved in the clashes can expect to be taken to court, particularly as legislation has been tightened this year and .
Sharashenidze doubts that the authorities will carry out mass arrests. “I think the arrests will only affect those who were involved in the clashes,” he said. “Those merely blocking roads are unlikely to be targeted.”
‘Zero sympathy’
Kobakhidze said Monday 6 that “extremist groups” of people who had been protesting in Tbilisi for almost a year now were financing political parties, media outlets and NGOs. He announced a policy of “zero sympathy” for the movement.
Tengiz Sharmanashvili, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, said the authorities would no longer “tolerate” the streets being blocked by protesters.
On Monday, there were reports on social media that activist Vakho Pitskhelauri, who has been participating in the daily protests, had been arrested in his shop. It is now known that he is one of the 13 people that the Interior Ministry said it had arrested. He was already reportedly abducted by masked men, beaten, robbed and threatened with death in January. It is not clear whether he was at all involved with the unrest on October 4.
Could opposition be banned?
Vasadze said the authorities were using the situation to further . He referred to the arrests earlier this year of eight opposition politicians who were arrested for refusing to testify before a controversial parliamentary investigative commission that was established to look into alleged crimes during the presidency of Miheil Saakashvili.
When the commission published its results in September, Kobakhidze announced that he would declare the former president’s United National Movement unconstitutional and also ban its “satellites.”
Vasadze said the government sought to effectively ban all opposition forces. “The authorities view all opposition parties as satellites of the United National Movement — even those that participated in the local elections,” Vasadze said. “Even before October 4, there were rumors that the opposition was planning a coup. Now there is an argument.”
This article was translated from German.
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