Georgian Ex-PM Gakharia’s party calls for parliamentary inquiry into protest dispersals after BBC report
The opposition party For Georgia, which holds 12 seats in parliament, is calling for the creation of a parliamentary investigative commission to examine the legality of the ‘special means’ used by police during the 2024 dispersal of protests in Tbilisi. This came in response to the BBC investigation into the issue.
According to the BBC documentary, which sparked intense public debate, the broadcaster found evidence pointing to the use of an agent the French military referred to as ‘camite’ in Tbilisi during the 2024 protests against the government’s EU U-turn. The substance has been out of use since the 1930s, discontinued amidst concerns about its long-lasting effects.
For Georgia stated that the report ‘sparked justifiable public outrage and protest’, while triggering ‘complete panic and hysteria’ within the ruling Georgian Dream party, ‘further intensifying suspicions about their culpability’.
The party added that ‘we are dealing with such a grave possible crime that the demand for launching an independent and impartial investigation is now on the agenda’.
It also stated the public must know ‘exactly who gave the order to mix the illegal chemical substance into the water’.
‘Was this a systemic crime or an unlawful act committed by a specific official, which endangered the lives and health of numerous demonstrators?’ the statement read.
For Georgia explained the need of the investigative parliamentary commission by stating that ‘the [Georgian Dream]-controlled judiciary and investigative system practically no longer enjoy public trust, and justice is politically motivated’. It further noted that the members of the ruling party responded to the documentary with ‘chaotic, hysterical, and panicked statements, often mutually contradictory positions’.
‘An investigative commission is the only instrument that allows citizens to personally assess the objectivity of the investigation and hear live answers to the questions that concern them’, the opposition party added, noting that they will submit the draft resolution on the establishment of the temporary commission at parliament’s next bureau meeting.
For Georgia is a party founded by former Georgian Dream Prime Minister and current opposition leader, Giorgi Gakharia. Until recently, the party, like all three other major opposition groups to have secured seats in the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections, had been boycotting all sessions of parliament. However, in October of this year, the party ended its boycott and took seats in parliament.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
The BBC’s documentary was released on Monday, prompting strong reactions from government critics both inside Georgia and abroad. According to the film, the chemical agent was likely mixed into the water cannon streams that riot police repeatedly used against protesters.
The ruling party and its allies — including pro-government media — responded with fierce criticism and attacks directed at the BBC and the film’s contributors.
On Wednesday, three days after the documentary’s release Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed that some substance had indeed been added to the water, though — like Interior Minister Gela Geladze — he repeatedly denied the use of ‘camite’. The government insists that not only was ‘camite’ never used, but that the ministry has never purchased it, including under the previous United National Movement (UNM) administration.
On the very day the film was released, the State Security Service (SSG) announced that it had launched an investigation. According to the SSG, the investigation will examine claims of harm to citizens’ health under the charge of abuse of official powers, while also making a probe under the charge of aiding a foreign organisation in hostile activities — an indication that the BBC’s interviewees would also be targeted.
Since Monday, several interviewees from the film, as well as other individuals connected in various ways to the events depicted, have been summoned for questioning.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
