Majority Members Assess Merabishvili's Release

The ruling party Georgian Dream representatives have responded to ex-interior minister Vano Merabishvili's release after almost 7 years of imprisonment, and to his statements about the need to "change the current government." 

Merabishvili said he "guarantees" that the ruling party Georgian Dream, under Bidzina Ivanishvili's leadership, will lose power this year.

He also promised that "by the end of the year, after toppling the government, the doors of the 'Matrosov prison' will be opened wide [to free the political prisoners there]." 

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the statements, saying that "there have been several attempts to topple the government, but they have never succeeded." 

He added that the goal of the government is to create a better future and a strong state, which will be a country of opportunities, not a place for coups and overthrows.

“I did not want to talk about this today, but it is once again confirmed that the National Movement is already of the past. We must think about tomorrow, we must work to make this country not a country of challenges and coups, but a country of opportunities for young people. Today, in the first minutes of freedom, this person spoke about toppling the government. Let us all agree that we are looking to the future. There have been attempts to overthrow the government several times, and they have never succeeded. Our goal is to create a better future and a strong state, which will be a country of opportunities, not a place for coups and overthrows, which we have left in the past,” PM Gakharia said.

In turn, ruling party MPs Nukri Kantaria, Via Volski and Irakli Sesiashvili said that Merabishvili is a person "demanding dead bodies from his employees and issuing orders to brutally disperse demonstrations, and he will never gain public support again."

"I advise opposition member Giga Bokeria, who is a friend of Merabishvili, to explain to him that he no longer lives in a country where he can overthrow the government or demand corpses," Irakli Sesiashvili, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee, said after Merabishvili's release.

“This is a man who not only demanded bodies but who committed real crimes. Those crimes were committed in reality. The United National Movement's tactics and strategy were to blackmail people and take away their lives; they thought it was right. Vano Merabishvili spoke about it today when he left prison. We all know that he is guilty of that for which he was sentenced to imprisonment. He committed a crime and is still aggressive instead of repentant,” Gia Volski, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said.

Ruling team member Nukri Kantaria noted that "Merabishvili has no chance of success and the political parties may accept collaboration with him only symbolically."

"It is impossible for a person who was demanding bodies to return to active politics and realize his threats to topple the government," he said.

Former Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili left the so-called Matrosov prison this morning, after 7 years of imprisonment with promises to return to active politics. 

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: Vano Merabishvili Plans to Return to Active Politics