Georgian Parliament Speaker says opposition rally “failure”, calls for Western condemnation of Saakashvili regime

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday criticised the recent opposition rally, labeling it a “failure” and asserting that it revealed the continued dominance of the United National Movement and its affiliates in the radical opposition.

In a social media message, Papuashvili noted that the rally, which was billed as the “end of the regime”, ultimately “ended with a whimper”, highlighting the presence of a “Free Misha” banner behind former President Zurabishvili as evidence of the UNM's orchestration. He argued that this dispelled any pretense of the protest being a “people's act”.

“Yesterday’s rally, which turned out to be yet another failure for the radical opposition, showed that the United National Movement and its branches, under ex-president Saakashvili, are still in charge of the radical movement. Any pretense to spin the protest demonstrations as ‘people’s act’ disappears every time the UNM and its satellites show up. Yesterday too, the ‘Free Misha’ banner behind yet another ex-president Zourabishvili betrayed who really was the organizer. As a result, the rally, which was advertised as the ‘end of the regime’, itself ended with a whimper”, the Speaker said.

He further criticised the Western community for its perceived lack of formal condemnation of the regime of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, which ruled Georgia from 2003 to 2012.

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“This should have been a telling sign for our foreign partners long time ago. Yet, the violent and criminal regime, which ruled Georgia between 2003 and 2012, has never been formally condemned by the Western community. Saakashvili’s patrons in the West, especially in the Baltics and some in the US, to this day, consider him a political ally. Numerous European Parliament resolutions called for his release from legal detention. While living abroad, escaping justice, Western politicians received him for formal meetings, even if he had already been tried and convicted by the Georgian Court”, he continued.

Papuashvili highlighted a "dramatic divergence" between the perceptions of Georgians and some Western politicians regarding Saakashvili.

“And this is where the interests and perceptions of foreigners and Georgians dramatically diverge. For our people, Saakashvili is a criminal. For some in the West, he is a legitimate partner and even a hero. Until this controversy is resolved, there will not be any reconciliation of views between the Georgians and Saakashvili’s patrons”, the Speaker noted.

He called for a “meaningful first step” from foreign partners, urging them to formally condemn Saakashvili's regime and distance themselves from his legacy, including the UNM and its affiliated parties.

“A meaningful first step from our foreign partners would be a formal condemnation of Saakashvili’s regime and a resolute distancing from his legacy, including the UNM as well as its sprawling family of radical parties that style themselves as ‘new’ opposition. Until these people find themselves accepted in the West, Georgians will never comprehend how our foreign partners can be ‘friends of Georgia’. Cleansing of Georgian body politic from the remnants of the criminal regime can be a fresh start for the convalescence of political process and the end of political radicalism”, Papuashvili concluded.