“I want to address Mr Ivanishvili directly: attempting to provoke even more intense confrontation, or suggesting that this will escalate into civil unrest to intimidate, is unimaginable,” stated former President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili.

According to her, there exists a clear dichotomy between the regime and society, and in this conflict, society will ultimately prevail.

“I want to reach out, first and foremost, to our society, which is undoubtedly very concerned about the current situation in the country. It is a fact that after the New Year, a new wave of repressions, arrests, and intimidation has commenced, all aimed at one goal: to quash the protests, which will not be silenced.

We have entered a new phase of the Russian regime, which is unabashedly employing all the tactics that were once emblematic of, and continue to characterize, Putin’s regime in Russia. One glaring instance of this is what transpired in Abu Dhabi, where members of parliament acted against an ordinary citizen, who should if nothing else, be afforded a basic obligation of patience; yet this obligation seems to be entirely absent.

On the contrary, it appears that the MPs are either acting on direct orders or of their own volition, but they are clearly complicit in this violence—behaviour that is utterly incomprehensible for any normal nation and is characteristic only of authoritarian, totalitarian, dictatorial regimes.

Furthermore, what occurred tonight against one politician, Giorgi Gakharia, is also entirely unacceptable. I do not wish to draw distinctions between politicians and other citizens; this violence affects everyone. Violence against anyone is intolerable, and attempts to intimidate society or private citizens are equally unacceptable. We will inform our partners and the international community about these developments because we cannot allow such actions to persist.

It so happens that today there is a strike being led by a significant segment of society. This strike should serve as a clear signal that society will not be intimidated; it is resolute and fully aware of its desires and its boundaries. Georgia will not permit itself to be entirely transformed into a Russian regime. For this reason, Georgia is fighting—and it is doing so peacefully.

I want to reiterate to Mr Ivanishvili that the glaringly evident attempts to provoke even more intense confrontation, to escalate tensions, or at least to instill fear of civil conflict, are simply unimaginable. There are not two sides in Georgia. There is society and there are those who perpetuate violence—whether they are MPs or individuals who thrive on propagating messages of violence on social media. They too are participants in this violent regime.

Thus, on one side, we have the regime, and on the other, there is society. In this case, Mr Ivanishvili, society will always triumph,” stated Salome Zourabichvili.