Statement by the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Political Union

The ruling party Georgian Dream has released a statement regarding the June 20 events which took place in Tbilisi one year ago.

The statement reads: "Today marks one year since the events of 20 June and it is important to once again reevaluate and assess the events that took place last year in a relatively calm and peaceful environment.

Georgia has fought a great deal for freedom and today, we all know that freedom, first and foremost, is a great responsibility.

During such times, public control over the government attains a special significance, even if it takes the shape of protest expressed in a healthy manner, which serves to point out the government's mistakes, to render it more dynamic, and to prevent it from relaxing in the future. Under the conditions of democratic governance, this enriches the country, rather than constituting a problem for the authorities.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for healthy, active protest to escalate into chaos and violence, and we have seen examples of this taking place not just in Georgia.

Of course, during such times, it is the direct obligation of any responsible government to protect the law, the state, and the public from the violation of constitutional order, as well as from disorder and violence.

This is an obligation dictated precisely by the aforementioned "responsibility for freedom."

Today, while assessing the events of 20 June, we must try to analyze what happened precisely from this perspective in order to minimize the chances of the recurrence of extremely damaging processes in the future.

Last year, an unfortunate mistake made by the authorities was followed by public protest. The authorities acknowledged the mistake and took political responsibility. 

Unfortunately, the destructive opposition attempted to use this protest for their own political purposes and turned the wave of protest into a violent demonstration. They launched an intense assault on the Parliament building and police forces, and, in effect, attempted to overthrow the government by force.

Despite the fact that the attempted violent intrusion into the Parliament building was broadcast live by all television channels and unmistakable evidence was gathered against the organizers and active participants of the assault, for a long time, the opposition – in their characteristically insolent manner –  denied the facts that all of Georgia saw with their own eyes. Over the past year, however, the opponents have repeatedly confirmed, directly or indirectly, that the escalation of the peaceful protest rally into an assault on the Parliament building on 20-21 June 2019 was a specially planned operation, which aimed at provoking the use of force by the police in order to artificially create an excuse to overthrow the government. The intentions of the perpetrators of the bloody crackdowns on the rallies of 7 November 2007 and 26 May 2011 were cynical and immoral as they were well aware that the Georgian public has an extremely painful reaction to the use of force by the police, even when it is legitimate.

It is beyond a doubt that while repelling the attack that targeted the main institution of state, police forces – which were operating under the legal regime of necessary repulsion – were acting in line with the authority provided for by Georgian legislation. Unfortunately, both the participants of the protest rally, as well as police officers, sustained severe physical injuries during the operation to disperse the demonstration that had gone beyond the legal framework. Representatives of the media also sustained injuries in the process.

The injuries sustained were the worst result of these events, and the political – as well as legal – responsibility for these consequences rests with the organizers of the criminal undertaking of 20 June.

As a result of these events, the authorities successfully passed the test of democracy and left no instance of the use of excessive force by the police without a legal response; at the same time, they did everything possible to restore the health of those who had sustained injuries in the process.

In addition, it should be noted that the fact that a crime was committed by the participants of the assault was confirmed by the court, and the absolute majority of the participants of the assault confessed to the crime of their own accord.

Today, one year after these tragic events, once the emotions have cooled off and we can judge the events in a detached manner, the contrast between the authorities, which are effective, loyal to democracy, and mindful of their people's needs, and the forces that are focused on destruction and returning to power at any cost becomes even more evident.

The successful fight against the pandemic by our people and our state rendered this contrast even more stark: the effective steps taken by the united government team of the Georgian Dream and the consolidation of the Georgian public put an end to the destructive agenda of the opposition, who, even under these conditions, were focused on harming their own people, their own state, and its authorities. Naturally, they were unsuccessful, just as they will never succeed in any attempt to stir up unrest. Politically bankrupt forces that have lost all public confidence will never again be able to seize power and perpetrate violence against the people.

We feel the support of the public and we feel responsible for the history and the future of our country, which is why the Georgian Dream, together with the Georgian people, will successfully overcome all challenges, oppose the destructive agenda of the opposition, and attain a convincing victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections, just as we all stood against the global pandemic together.

We – all of us together – will finally lead our country on the path to victory and find our dignified place in the free, democratic, European family!"