Georgian authorities have accused the West of being involved in a large anti-government protest in Tbilisi on October 4, which the country's political opposition had described as a "peaceful revolution" aimed at overthrowing the Georgian Dream (GD) government.
On the evening of October 4, tens of thousands of people gathered peacefully in the center of the Georgian capital, while a separate, smaller group attempted to storm the nearby presidential palace, but were quickly repelled by riot police, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.
The protesters’ goal was to revitalise a gradually stagnating resistance movement which began nearly a year ago after GD suspended EU accession talks, sabotaging the country’s Euro-Atlantic future in the eyes of many Georgians.
The large-scale demonstration on October 4 was held in parallel with local elections in the Caucasus country. The vote was steeped in controversy amid a boycott by most of the country’s political opposition and by key local and international observers.
Official results from Georgia’s Central Election Commission show GD won all cities and municipalities nationwide, with ruling party candidate Kakha Kaladze receiving 72% of the vote in Tbilisi, cementing his third term as mayor of the capital.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has since called the October 4 protest an “attempt to overthrow the constitutional order”, a scenario he declared was “directly supported” by “specific people from abroad”, as cited by RFE/RL.
Kobakhidze claimed that, in this context, the unrest in Tbilisi was the “direct responsibility” of the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński.
“He [Herczyński] should come out, distance himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the streets of Tbilisi," the prime minister added.
Officials in Moscow have made similar allegations, blaming the West for instigating the October 4 unrest in an attempt to provoke a revolution scenario in Georgia similar to Ukraine’s Euromaidan.
Take to the streets, not to the polls
Rally organisers had called on Georgian citizens to refrain from heading to the polls on October 4, urging them instead to join a “peaceful revolution” to win a change of power.
While the ruling party was celebrating its victory as polls closed, crowds filled Tbilisi’s main Rustaveli Avenue and Liberty Square.
Though largely peaceful, the action escalated into unrest in the downtown Atoneli area of the capital, when a small group of protesters attempted to storm the Presidential Orbeliani Palace, following a call by rally organisers for male participants to move there from Rustaveli and occupy the building.
Although they breached the outer gates, demonstrators did not manage to enter the presidential residence, but clashed sporadically with riot police, who deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.
According to Georgia’s interior ministry, 14 police officers and several protesters were injured during clashes.
