The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, expressed bewilderment over statements made by some EU politicians regarding the nature of the protest on February 2 near Tbilisi Mall. According to Papuashvili, everyone could see the protesters' "attempt to commit a crime" as they tried to block the highway.
Papuaushvili emphasized that the February 2 protest was violent, despite politicians from Brussels calling it peaceful. He noted that when Brussels bureaucrats label violence as peace, they encourage violence.
"They say that throwing firecrackers at police officers, attempting to set fire to the parliament building, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails – this is a peaceful demonstration. Then I said that if this is peace, let this kind of peace be in their capitals every day. Has it come true?! And now, if for them peace means blocking an international highway and announcing it in advance, then let this kind of peace be on their highways and roads too.
A violent action was announced—organized by foreign-funded NGOs and the 'National Movement.' It was stated that they would gather near the highways and block them. Naturally, it is clear that law enforcement officers would not allow the highway to be blocked. When the protesters arrived, they were met by a police cordon warning them not to block the road. Despite this, they attempted to break through the cordon and block the highway.
What we saw live was an attempt to commit a crime – they wanted to block the highway. The police’s task is to prevent crimes, and that is exactly what they did yesterday, not allowing the protesters to carry out their plan.
Accordingly, when it comes to a violent protest, the use of police force is necessary to contain it. As for specific incidents, I will not go into details or comment on them—that is the responsibility of the Special Investigation Service, and those concerned can turn to them for review.
Regarding political assessments, what struck me was that we heard statements yesterday from Brussels politicians, officials, and diplomats calling a violent protest peaceful. Because they call such events peaceful, violence continues to occur. Therefore, when some Brussels bureaucrats label violence as peace and a violent protest as a peaceful demonstration, they are in fact encouraging violence," Papuashvili stated.