Ex-President Zourabishvili: Fencing was weakened in advance; some part of opposition was likely used for unfolded scenario

“Several days ago, we witnessed a staged assault on the Presidential Palace, which was utterly absurd. The fencing was prepared for the attack in advance, most likely weakened by local forces. The scenario was likely prepared using some parts of the opposition that were not prepared or somewhat conscious enough of what was happening,” declared Georgia’s former President, Salome Zourabichvili, during a panel discussion at Forum 2000 in Prague.

According to her, the ruling party seeks to discredit Georgia’s resistance movement.

“They played this model scenario for only one reason, and the reason was to discredit the resistance movement that exists in Georgia, the peaceful resistance movement that is on the streets now for 319 days. That has not stopped since the Prime Minister’s declaration last November, when he announced the suspension, no, perhaps the halt of relations and negotiations with the European Union. In effect, it marked a complete reversal and a recognition of a 180-degree shift towards Russia. And since then, this peaceful movement has been on the street without a car being burnt, or without a shop window being destroyed.

That is the movement that the regime was unable to stop. They cannot stop Mzia Amaglobeli [jailed founder of Netgazeti and Batumelebi media outlets] and the others. And there are 50 prisoners of conscience who are in jail, plus those who have been arrested in recent days. We are now in the numbers of hundreds. And, you cannot stop that.

So, in order not to stop it, but to discredit it, this type of attack on the Winter Palace, which was a Presidential Palace, was orchestrated. But that won’t work either, because the peaceful movement has continued ever since.

It is a movement to defend the Constitution, not to attack it. It aims to stabilise, not destabilise, the country on a European path. Everyone involved in this movement understands that any form of destabilisation only benefits our neighbour, especially given that Russian bases in the Tskhinvali region are just 40 kilometres from the capital, Tbilisi.

So nobody in their right mind wants any form of destabilization, and that’s why this movement has been so adamantly peaceful and will remain peaceful,” Salome Zourabichvili has stated.