Saakashvili’s post calls for end to autocratic rule, not violence, UNM official

Irakli Pavlenishvili, deputy secretary general of the United National Movement party, on Monday said that a recent social media post by convicted former President Mikheil Saakashvili was a call for the country to be freed from autocratic governance and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of violence.

Pavlenishvili said the message’s “content is simple” and reflected a desire to see Georgia liberated from “authoritarian rule.”

“The content of this status is simple – he wants this country to be freed from autocratic governance. That is what it is about, and not about any violence or anyone’s death,” Pavlenishvili said.

He added that drawing comparisons with developments abroad did not imply a desire to replicate those events in Georgia.

“When making a comparison, it is not necessary for the process unfolding there to be copied here. There may be people who like it or dislike it – that is a matter of assessment and interpretation,” he said.

Pavlenishvili also stressed that many members and supporters of the United National Movement did not believe Saakashvili would wish harm on his own country.

“Many of us, including members and supporters of the United National Movement, clearly understand that Mikheil Saakashvili is not among those who would want anything bad – especially violence – for their own country. That is why this status is perceived differently,” he said.

Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s third president, wrote on social media in reference to ongoing events in Iran, saying “the dictator has been killed, Iran is free, people are celebrating. God, God, let me hear this sweet sound in my homeland.”