Attempts to instill fear in society are doomed to fail, ex-official

Former official David Zurabishvili has said that recent alleged attempts by the government to create a climate of fear were aimed at discouraging public discussion on topics the authorities may find undesirable.

He claimed such measures represented an unsuccessful attempt to control and intimidate citizens.

“I believe they are trying to instill a certain type of fear so that no one speaks on topics that may be unwelcome to the authorities. But no one will be intimidated - people will continue to speak. They are not yet able to establish an outright dictatorship; they have the idea of a dictator, but they cannot implement it because local and international conditions do not allow it. This is an attempt at intimidation, but it is doomed. In this way, the security service itself is put in a difficult position,” Zurabishvili said.

The remarks come after the State Security Service of Georgia summoned political analyst Gia Khukhashvili for questioning this week.The questioning concerned comments Khukhashvili made on a television programme regarding developments in the Middle East. Other individuals have also been questioned on the same matter in recent days.