18 years later: Georgian Parliament Speaker claims November 7 perpetrators still want to eliminate Imedi TV

On the 18th anniversary of the November 7, 2007 events, the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that “the very same people who created the November 7 crime are speaking today about the need to storm Imedi TV”.

The remarks were made as the country marked 18 years since the tumultuous day when the regime of then-President Mikheil Saakashvili dispersed peaceful protests and subsequently stormed the premises of TV company Imedi.

"What did Ms. [Rasa] Juknevičienė [MEP] say yesterday? That Imedi TV must be eliminated, right? Overall, this suggests that their order was to eliminate, abolish, remove any opponent Saakashvili had and confine them to some sort of reservation. This was, in reality, the Europe that certain representatives of the European political elite were building for us through Saakashvili's hand”, the Parliament Speaker said.

The Speaker's comments draw a direct line between the actions taken against independent media 18 years ago and current political rhetoric.

November 7, 2007 is etched in Georgia's recent history as a significant breach of democratic norms.

Following the violent dispersal of peaceful demonstrations, the Saakashvili regime forcibly entered and shut down Imedi TV, a move widely condemned internationally.