“The detention of special forces officers (who participated in the forceful dispersal of protests and used violence) is unequivocally linked to the visit of the US State Department representative. The authorities are likely trying to sell the Americans a narrative that those responsible for the violence have been detained,” Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Opposition Alliance, told reporters.
“About 20 special forces members beat me and Nika Mosiashvili in front of 19 cameras. Six people beat my brother with iron batons. Boris Chele Kurua was also beaten by six people with iron batons. Only one person was detained for the beating of Levan Khabeishvili. Was Khabeishvili beaten by just one person?! When they were beating David Katsarava, were they unable to identify those special forces members? I could stand here for an hour listing cases of violence, both by the ‘men in black’ and the so-called *titushki* (government-hired thugs),” stated Zurab Japaridze.
Today, he and other opposition representatives met with Sonata Coulter, the visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. Following the meeting, Japaridze reported that the primary topic of conversation was the situation in the country.
“The conversation covered everything. As a rule, when people come to such meetings, they are prepared. I cannot say we told them anything they didn’t already know. Naturally, they were aware. Perhaps we shared details about the events of recent weeks and days—for instance, that the day before yesterday, a person was detained simply for standing on the sidewalk.
The conversation was very frank—about the priorities of the new US administration both on a global scale and in our region and Georgia. We exchanged views on how we see the country’s development and what Georgia’s relations with the US should be. It is clear they should not be as they are now.
We also discussed that whatever promises ‘Georgian Dream’ makes regarding the normalization of relations, it is all a lie and an absurdity, because ‘Georgian Dream’ continues its anti-Western and anti-American propaganda in parallel.
We also discussed that truly good, sincere, and friendly relations between the US and Georgia will only be possible after a regime change, as the absolute majority of this country’s citizens hold pro-Western and pro-American views. Georgia is one of the most pro-American countries, and it will always be so. This is what the discussion was about,” stated Zurab Japaridze.