“The protest has not gone anywhere, and those 50, 70, 80 thousand people will come out and they will come out peacefully, as they have done before – today, tomorrow, and the day after. No one should think that the momentum has disappeared and that they can do whatever they want – that is not the case. The Georgian people are standing their ground,” – Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, told journalists at the rally taking place on Rustaveli Avenue.
According to Zurabishvili, “the regime’s main target is Rustaveli Avenue.”
“The Georgian people have shown resilience and resistance. Here is a completely peaceful society that comes out and says: ‘I will not accept this government, which is illegitimate, formed through rigged elections, and which then turned its back on our European future. I will not accept this’ – that is what every citizen who has been coming here for 312 days is saying, and they will continue. Clearly, the regime’s attempt is to somehow intimidate Rustaveli, or to stop it, or to turn it into something else, to change its character, to present itself as the force of peace and paint us as violent. That will not work.
They either threaten Rustaveli or try to spread hopelessness. Sometimes you hear people say, ‘Well, what’s the perspective? What are the plans?’ – but you cannot have a concrete plan for how a dictatorial, Russian regime will end. We are fighting together against the dictatorial regime here and the Russia that stands behind it, which supports it in every way – just as their security services helped during the elections, they are helping now. We are fighting all of this together. Therefore, this is a very difficult struggle that does not have ready-made recipes. Anyone who says there is a ready recipe – of course we all want to believe in miracles, and I understand the desire for new hope. I do not blame anyone for that. I understand the dissatisfaction and the wish for this to end quickly, because our lives are moving on – mine even more so. But patience, endurance, and resilience are the greatest qualities of the people standing here, and we should be proud of that – this is our main hope and our trust,” – Zurabishvili said.
She also spoke about the events of October 4 near the Atoneli residence.
“What happened at the Orbeliani Palace was a trap set by the regime. That is not characteristic of this movement, of this peaceful protest. It is impossible that people who have been standing here for more than 300 days to defend the Constitution – which the regime tramples on every day – would suddenly abandon all that in one hour and engage in unconstitutional acts. That is not the case,” – Zurabishvili stated.
According to her, nothing can damage this protest.
“Yesterday, we saw what we already knew – that whenever needed, the protest has not gone anywhere, and those 50, 70, 80 thousand people will come out again and come out peacefully, as they have done before – today, tomorrow, and the day after. No one should think that the momentum has disappeared and that they can do whatever they want – that is not the case. The Georgian people are standing their ground,” – said Salome Zurabishvili.
Salome Zurabishvili: The protest has not gone anywhere, no one should think the momentum is gone and they can do whatever they want; the Georgian people are standing – this is a very difficult struggle with no ready-made recipes
