NGO head likens alleged use of toxic agent against demonstrators to 1989 crackdown in Tbilisi

Zaza Bibilashvili, founder of the Chavchavadze Center, has drawn a parallel between the current controversy over alleged unlawful crowd-control measures and the 9 April 1989 crackdown in Tbilisi, saying the government was repeating tactics once used by Soviet authorities.

Bibilashvili said that in 1989 officials insisted no chemical agents had been used against demonstrators, dismissing those who claimed otherwise as “crazy” or “radicals”. He argued that a similar narrative was now being employed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which he accused of attempting to discredit citizens who allege that illegal means were used during the recent dispersal of protests.

According to Bibilashvili, the government and what he described as its “Russian patrons” failed to maintain a coherent message about the incident, offering contradictory explanations before ultimately declaring that the matter had been fully investigated and no further questions remained.

He said he was confident the case will eventually reach an international investigation.