Speaker Papuashvili: attack on presidential palace shows Zourabishvili’s intended role was clear

The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, on Monday said that the attempt by “coup organizers” to seize the Georgian Presidential Palace on Saturday was not a coincidence, claiming that the role envisioned for fifth President Salome Zourabichvili in the plot had long been evident.

Papuashvili argued that the events of October 4, when what he described as a “violent mob” stormed the palace, confirmed the dangers of political radicalism. He accused certain “radical leaders”, including Zourabichvili, of encouraging the unrest before later distancing themselves once the attempt failed.

“The fact that the organizers of the coup tried to take over the Presidential Palace is no coincidence. The role intended for Zourabichvili and the way she was being prepared for it are obvious,” Papuashvili wrote.

He added that Zourabichvili’s continued use of the presidential standard - a symbol reserved for the sitting president - since leaving office was “especially troubling”, particularly during meetings with foreign diplomats.

Papuashvili criticized what he described as foreign tolerance of such actions, saying that some Western diplomats’ failure to react had “encouraged radicals and extremists”.

“Foreign officials who, for months, helped reinforce the image of Zourabichvili as Georgia’s ‘legitimate’ president bear part of the responsibility,” he said. “Their politically driven meddling contributed to the situation that led radicals to attempt a coup.”

The Speaker concluded that the October 4 events marked the first time in Georgia’s history that radicals targeted the Presidential Palace “with covert support from a former president.”