According to Irakli Pavlenishvili, chairman of the governing board of the United National Movement (UNM), Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has refused the party permission to hold a rally scheduled for October 1 in Rike Park. Nevertheless, the opposition figure stated, they will still assemble by the so-called “Rike Jugs” at 5:00 PM that day.
“Yesterday, we received notification from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that, as it turns out, on October 1—five years after the imprisonment of Mikheil Saakashvili—a rally demanding his release cannot be held. It turns out that Georgian citizens have no right to hold protests in Rike Park unless it aligns with the will of the Interior Ministry and Tbilisi City Hall.
This directive is, of course, entirely unlawful. It is unacceptable to restrict people’s freedom of movement in public spaces, whether parks or public squares, simply because Ivanishvili remains terrified above all else of Mikheil Saakashvili; because the Ivanishvili regime still harbors a panicked fear of the National Movement.
They know full well that the nine-year period of progress and development in this country will inevitably continue, and the 14 years of devastation will come to an end. They understand perfectly what role Mikheil Saakashvili, together with the National Movement and the Georgian people, will play in dismantling this regime,” Pavlenishvili stated.
The UNM leader reiterated his call for citizens, “no matter what technical obstacles are placed in our way,” to gather at Rike Park, which has “turned into a symbol of the ruin and plundering of Georgia.”
As a reminder, on October 1, 2021, the country’s third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, returned to Georgia after an absence of roughly eight years. Later that same day, authorities announced his arrest.
