Georgian PM highlights domestic transparency law as only reason recent attempts at revolution failed

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday said his Government was ready to engage in dialogue on any topic, provided that the country’s national interests were not used as a bargaining chip.

In his interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster, Kobakhidze vowed that his Government would defend the country’s national interests to the fullest extent.

“When someone tells you to incite a revolution in your own country in exchange for some privilege, that is not a proper dilemma for us. We cannot put our national interests on the scale - this was the case with the so-called transparency law. The only reason recent attempts at revolution were unsuccessful was this law, which in reality was a law on the transparency of revolutions. By making revolutionary processes transparent, they weakened these efforts. In many areas, they no longer wanted to fund revolutions transparently, as they had previously done without restrictions”, the PM said.

“When someone says the transparency law must be abolished to enable revolutions, that can never be an acceptable trade-off. Therefore, we will protect our national interests to the fullest extent while also fulfilling our obligations, including those under the Association Agreement and DCFTA”, Kobakhidze concluded.

On October 4, large-scale protests in Tbilisi escalated into a dramatic confrontation, as a group of radical demonstrators tried to storm the presidential palace. The unrest occurred on the same day Georgia held municipal elections.

Authorities detained at least five opposition figures, including Paata Burchuladze. They are now facing charges of plotting to overthrow the government - a potential offense that could carry lengthy prison sentences.

Government officials described the events as a failed coup attempt orchestrated with foreign backing. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called the protests “an attempted overthrow of the constitutional order”.