Georgian President Comments on Last Night’s Unrest in Tbilisi

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili convened a special briefing today to comment on the last night’s unrest in Tbilisi, when police dispersed protesters gathered outside the Parliament through massive use of tear gas and rubber bullets.

She started out by saying that “politics, governance means foreseeing the risks” and those preconditions were not met by the government in “absolutely unjustified” holding of the Inter-Parliementary Orthodox Assembly in Tbilisi, as well as its “unacceptable format” and the “Russian delegate in the highest chair of the Georgian legislature”.

President said this “caused grave offense to our society and triggered national protest.”

“I expect the government to assess this tragedy adequately and to give response to all questions,” President Zurabishvili said, adding that all those who “put the country in danger using all kinds of tricks” should be held accountable.

“The goals of those people, who seek escalation and destabilization are quite clear – through anti-constitutional and anti-state actions, they aim at implementing Russia’s century-old plan of splitting the Georgian society, weakening and enslaving the state and undermining the foundation of our country’s independence,” the Georgian President said.

Zurabishvili called on the public to “avoid provocations” and expressed readiness to meet with all those political forces, who “distance or will distance themselves from the calls that are destructive and damaging for the country.”

“Our common future lies in our unity, reconciliation and our European path. That is how we will confront Russia and respond to occupation,” she added.

The Georgian President suspended her working visit to Belarus following the late night developments in Tbilisi on June 20.

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