"Georgian Dream" Party holds opposition responsible for riots in Tbilisi

The dispersal of the protest action in Tbilisi, during which dozens of protestors and journalists were injured, was a response to the calls for assaulting the parliament building, stated Kakha Kaladze, Secretary General of the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party. Activist Giorgi Mshveniradze treats the Kakha Kaladze's statement as an attempt of the authorities to relieve themselves of all responsibility for the victims.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 24, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for Georgia announced the suspension of the powers of its ten employees who had participated in the dispersal of the protest action on June 21. The law enforcers violated the instructions when using rubber bullets, claimed former Georgian Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili. In Tbilisi, the protesters organized a motor rally with the demand for the resignation of Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakhariya.

There was no plan to disperse the protest action in Tbilisi on June 21, and the police acts were aimed at repelling the attack, stated Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze.

According to him, the law enforcers had to respond to the protestors' attempt to assault the parliament building, since such actions were "totally unacceptable."

Giorgi Mshveniradze, the head of the NGO "Georgian Democratic Initiative", described the Kakha Kaladze's statement as an attempt of the authorities to evade responsibility. The country's leaders are to take responsibility for what happened, Giorgi Mshveniradze believes.