Kobakhidze blames EU for violence
Prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused an ‘EU spokesperson’ of supporting overthrowing the constitutional order and said what happened was the ‘direct responsibility’ of the EU ambassador in Georgia, calling on him to condemn the events of this evening.
He said tonight’s events were an attempt to ‘overthrow the constitutional order’ after protesters tried to storm the presidential palace in Tbilisi.
He warned that ‘harsh measures’ would be used tonight and in the coming days against those involved.
Kobakhidze said soon the ‘foreign agents’ would be ‘neutralised’ and would be unable to be involved in Georgian politics.
He said one police officer was in a ‘severe condition’ with ‘a broken bone and a hematoma’.
‘Those who did this should probably pray. The state will be very harsh on anyone who raises a hand against a police officer — very harsh. The state will be the harshest on anyone raising a hand against a police officer. The [state’s] response won’t be easy or lenient’.
When asked about the organisers of the protest and their call on people to storm the palace, Kobakhidze responded by saying: ‘When you’re a foreign agent, you don’t have freedom — you do what you’re told to’. He said these were orders from outside powers that they had to fulfill.
Kobakhidze refused to respond to a question about Georgia’s ambassador in the US, Tamar Taliashvili, being summoned to the US State Department over Georgian Dream’s accusations that a revolution was being financed in Georgia from the US Embassy in Thailand. He said the only relevant topics tonight were the elections and the prosecution of those responsible for the protest, including ‘specific organisations’.
