UNM rally should mark start of broader protests in Georgia, leader

United National Movement leader Anna Tsitlidze said the party’s rally in Tbilisi on Thursday should mark the beginning of a renewed and broader protest movement, as the opposition party plans to gather in support of former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

“We need to renew the protests, and these protests must grow into even larger-scale demonstrations,” Tsitlidze said. She added that the UNM would play a central role in the process and that Thursday’s rally would not be a one-off event.

Tsitlidze said the party viewed renewed protests as a means of pressing for the release of Saakashvili and other people whom the UNM describes as political prisoners. She alleged that journalists, activists and students were among those being detained for political reasons.

Addressing the Interior Ministry’s position on the rally, Tsitlidze said the ministry could not prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly.

“We intend to hold this rally peacefully and calmly,” she said.

The UNM plans to hold the rally at 5 p.m. on October 1 near Rike Park, marking five years since Saakashvili’s arrest. The party has said it will proceed with the gathering despite concerns raised by the Interior Ministry over the location and the formal notification submitted by the organisers.

The Interior Ministry has said it does not issue permits for rallies and that organisers are required to provide advance notice. It said the UNM’s notification did not meet legal requirements and suggested considering a different location or time because preparations were already underway for Tbilisoba events in the area.