“Today, they are trying to bring violence. They wanted to draw us into a provocation, which we did not follow. We chose to go to Sameba (Trinity Cathedral) for a prayer service. We will always try to respond to attacks on independence with dignity,” the Executive Secretary of the Georgian Dream, Mamuka Mdinaradze, told journalists.

Additionally, as Mdinaradze noted, April 9 has a tremendous and double significance today.

“On one hand, it is a great tragedy when 21 of our passionate and peaceful citizens were sacrificed to the cruelty of Rodionov’s Soviet army, and on the other, when this day became a symbol of victory, and two years later, our country declared independence.

When we talk about this date, I think we should raise our children both on the example of heroism and self-sacrifice and in the spirit of independence. This is the main essence of today.

Regarding today’s attitude, at the time, of those people who perhaps sincerely think they are doing something good and maybe misled – though there will be few such people – many standing there know very well that in his time, Rodionov tried to occupy Rustaveli Avenue, and now the Burchuladze-Rodionovs, who once called themselves the Russian camp, etc., are trying to attack the idea of independence in this sense.

Today, which for everyone is associated with unity, peace, mutual love, and the unity of Georgia and the Georgian people, Georgian cohesion – on this day they are trying to introduce confrontation and violence.

We naturally refrained from engaging with such provocations, as they aimed to orchestrate a scene. How can you imagine that some people should be ‘dragged away’ by the police and then you go and lay wreaths?

They wanted to draw us into this provocation but we did not follow. We chose to go to Sameba Cathedral for a prayer service, to commemorate the souls of the deceased heroes. We will always try to respond to cruelty, evil, and attacks on independence with dignity. We should not put our citizens, even those who have followed some dirty narrative, even they should not be put in a bad situation,” said Mamuka Mdinaradze.