UNM’s Chair: Spreading disinformation is designed to discredit Opposition Alliance and sow distrust among UNM supporters

“The fuss that erupted yesterday over claims that the Opposition Alliance had compiled a list of political prisoners in which Mikheil Saakashvili’s name did not appear is disinformation. Private individuals and activists have compiled this list and, as I have been informed, it is subject to continuous updating,” writes Tina Bokuchava, Chair of the United National Movement, on social media.

As Bokuchava notes, the current version of the list does in fact include Saakashvili’s name.

“The matter of Mikheil Saakashvili’s political imprisonment is recognised across the entire Western world, as has been underscored on numerous occasions in European Parliament resolutions. The most forceful statements and assessments on this subject have been made from the highest international platforms. The civilised world understands full well the context in which Georgia’s third president is being held as Putin’s personal prisoner. To cast doubt on this fact is to stray beyond the bounds of reason and good faith.

The fuss that erupted yesterday, as though the Opposition Alliance had produced a list of political prisoners omitting Mikheil Saakashvili’s name, is disinformation, plain and simple. Private individuals and activists have compiled this list, and, as I have learned, it is being continuously updated. The current version does include President Saakashvili’s name.

I want there to be absolutely no ambiguity: actions of this kind serve to discredit the Alliance, to breed distrust among UNM supporters, or to pursue other divisive ends. Whether wittingly or unwittingly, they play directly into the hands of Ivanishvili’s Russian-style regime, which fears nothing more than the unity of democratic political forces,” writes Tina Bokuchava.