Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze defended the actions of law enforcement during this weekend’s protest rallies in Tbilisi, claiming they acted “with a standard higher than American and European standards” in response to demonstrations against the government’s decision to suspend the country’s EU accession talks until 2028.
At today’s press conference, Kobakhidze condemned “any kind of violence” and emphasized that “violence against media representatives is categorically unacceptable.” He further stated, “Violence against media is unacceptable in any direction. This is my very clear position.”
The Prime Minister claimed that law enforcement officers refrained from intervening until protestors engaged in violent actions. He described how violent groups used “pyrotechnics, a serious dangerous weapon,” and threw stones and other heavy objects at police, stating that these actions turned the protests from peaceful to violent.
Kobakhidze also expressed his gratitude to Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and all law enforcement officers for their role in “successfully safeguarding the state from another attempt to disrupt the constitutional order,” despite the “hardest systemic violence perpetrated by violent groups yesterday.”
