Translated material
Disarming cinema
Georgian authorities denounce the opposition
Yesterday, the Tbilisi City Court ruled on two-month pre-trial detention for six representatives of United Georgia, founded by ex-speaker of parliament Nino Burjanadze. Also under arrest were two members of “For the Salvation of Georgia” - this organization was little known before the current events.Georgian authorities have gone on the offensive ahead of opposition rallies scheduled for April 9 demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili. This week, day after day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs transmits operational footage to television companies of the acquisition of weapons by activists of the opposition movements “United Georgia” and “For the Salvation of Georgia”, seeking to destabilize the situation and seize power. The recordings were made in restaurants, where emotional discussions take place at a traditional Georgian table, or in apartments, where operatives (their faces are retouched in the recordings) offer weapons to potential buyers.
The authorities are asking political opponents to disassociate themselves from criminal elements. Public meetings are being held across the country to talk about the inadmissibility of a repeat of the Georgian civil war of the early 90s. Burjanadze's supporters talk about a provocation - supposedly secret service agents could have been introduced into their ranks. The leader of the movement herself canceled her visit to Estonia for the conference “Women whose words matter in Europe” on March 26-28.
Meanwhile, just in case, the authorities are surrounding the parliament building with massive iron bars, in front of which the action is planned on April 9. “Videos and conversations about the civil war will reduce the number of those who will go to rallies in April,” Tbilisi political scientist Ramaz Sakvarelidze told Vremya Novostey. “But those who come will be even more angry with the authorities.” So far, the authorities’ arguments are not very effective, since many details are not convincing.”