Georgian Parliament speaker claims foreign interference in Tbilisi protests

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated that the recent protests in Tbilisi were accompanied by attempts at external interference and incitement to destabilize the country.

According to Georgia’s First Channel, Papuashvili made the remarks during a briefing on October 5, commenting on the events at Freedom Square.

“Before the preparation of the crime, during its commission, and after it, not a single foreigner—neither a Brussels official nor a representative of any individual country—condemned the violence or the crime, nor did they distance themselves from it,” Papuashvili said.

He added that the only messages heard were slogans supporting the crime and vague, empty phrases about democracy and freedom, which appeared even more cynical against the backdrop of a mass crime witnessed live around the world.

“It seems there were even pre-prepared texts that were released after a certain moment and were meant to serve as external incitement to a Maidan-style event. We see the same faces who have undermined our country for years, especially over the past three years, and their constant attempts to sow discord here,” Papuashvili noted.

According to him, society has long removed its “rose-colored glasses” and clearly sees the true nature of this false support for Georgians.

“Yesterday not only revealed a lot but did so in an indisputably clear way. Many questions I raised earlier, which perhaps required answers, were answered yesterday by both radicals inside the country and their supporters abroad. The answer is that there is a group with harmful interests toward Georgia. They are trying to destabilise our country and use it as a pawn,” Papuashvili said.

The unrest unfolded as polls closed in the highly contested municipal elections, where voters selected 2,058 council members and 64 mayors across the country. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, waving Georgian and EU flags, rallied in central Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue before marching toward the Orbeliani Palace, the residence of former pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili.

Demonstrators breached the palace grounds, erecting barricades and chanting for a "peaceful revolution" against the ruling party, Georgian Dream, which they accuse of election fraud, authoritarianism, and pro-Russian leanings. Opera singer and opposition figure Paata Burchuladze, who organised the rally, read a declaration calling for a transitional government and new parliamentary elections, citing the "unconstitutional" nature of GD's rule.

The October 4 clashes are the latest escalation in a year-long wave of demonstrations that began in late 2024, triggered by GD's controversial parliamentary election victory on October 26, 2024, widely decried as rigged by the opposition, President Zourabichvili, and international observers like the OSCE.

By Khagan Isayev