Former President Zourabichvili urges ‘resilience and solidarity’ ahead of October 26 protest

Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, on Friday said the public must remain united and continue expressing their protest despite what she described as growing repression by the authorities.

Zourabichvili said demonstrations planned for October 26 would once again show that “protest does not disappear, solidarity does not disappear and Georgia is permanent”.

She said the Government had intensified pressure against peaceful protesters through arrests, fines and intimidation, attempting unsuccessfully to provoke unrest.

“These are hysterical repressions from the regime against a peaceful society. Repressions continue, along with new ‘Russian laws’. We expect they will soon adopt legislation banning opposition parties and the activities of their members. This is another stage of political repression and the development of a Russian scenario”, the former President said.

Zourabichvili also accused the Government of drawing Georgia into Russia’s economic sphere by enabling sanctioned ships and sanctioned oil to enter the country, turning Georgia into a “grey criminal zone”.

She argued that despite these pressures, the ruling Georgian Dream has failed to suppress public dissent or govern effectively.

“They cannot govern the country. There is internal confrontation and criminal infighting. It is clear that the Georgian Dream is facing complete distrust, Zourabichvili noted.

She warned that repression may continue “for a little while longer”, but stressed that the public response must remain firm.

“We must be prepared that this may last a bit longer, but from us what is needed is resilience and solidarity, which we demonstrate every day. On October 26, we will all be there together to show once again that protest does not disappear, that solidarity does not disappear and that Georgia is permanent”, Zourabichvili said.