Opposition MPs Skeptical About Security Services Claims of “Plot”
On October 2, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) released a statement saying that three Serbian trainers, who were brought to Georgia to participate in a program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), were actively recruiting activists with the intent of orchestrating the violent overthrow of Georgia’s lawfully elected government.
Civil.ge has complied reactions of the opposition MPs to the security service’s statement:
Ana Tsitlidze, United National Movement: “Many times, we have seen the SSSG start an investigation into attempted coups. I have been interrogated in about five such cases in the course of the past 11 years […] but none of these cases came to a conclusion, because each of these cases was political nonsense, [that the government] needed to cover something up. The investigation started by the Security Service now is an attempt to cover up an important issue – that [Otar] Partskhaladze named as a [Russian] agent”.
Mikheil Daushvili, For Georgia: “The only thing we can learn from this statement is the continuation of the [Georgian] Dream’s hybrid war against our citizens… [Georgian] Dream is trying to intimidate our citizens to maintain its power based on fear and nothing else. When it comes to mentioning the USAID and the United States in this statement, we already see clearly that the [Georgian] Dream is attacking our partners, including the United States, in many ways.”
Ana Natsvlishvili, Lelo – for Georgia: “We remember when artists were asked [in USSR during the purges] whether they truly were building a tunnel from London to Bombay. […] Unfortunately, many of us thought that this belonged to the past. But, it seems that paranoid instincts come to dominate the authorities when their only objective becomes to enjoy and maintain power.”
Iago Khvichia, Girchi: “The more such enemies they invent, the more they have the opportunity to receive bonuses [rewards from the Bidzina Ivanishvili – ed.] because they will seemingly protect [the country] from the revolution […] This is [not] the first time you have heard that the special services are inventing a story to mislead the public.”
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)