GEORGIA: GOVERNMENT PLEDGES CONTINUED RESTRAINT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 000847

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: GOVERNMENT PLEDGES CONTINUED RESTRAINT ON
PROTESTS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary. Minister of Internal Affairs Vano
Merabishvili and Deputy FM Giga Bokeria both assured the
Ambassador during separate meetings May 1 that the Government
would be patient with the demonstrators and that no force
would be used against them. Merabishvili also agreed that
there would be no retribution against the opposition once the
protest actions were over. The Ambassador sought these
meetings to underscore the need for continued restraint and
to assure key Government officials that Washington understood
and appreciated the Government's patient approach.
Merabishvili noted that according to focus groups run by the
Government, the vast majority of Georgians, including
National Movement supporters, oppose the use of any force
against the demonstrators. End Summary.


2. (C) Ambassador and DCM met May 1 with Minister of
Internal Affairs Merabishvili and Ministry Spokesman Shota
Utiashvili to discuss the continuing deadlock with the
protesters on the streets. The Ambassador urged the
Government to continue to be patient and restrained in
dealing with the protesters. He also asked there be no
Government retribution against the opposition once the
protests ended; although there might be cases in which
arrests would be justified, this should not be a case for
vigilante action. The Ambassador said that the Government
should not only prosecute opposition members who broke the
law; he hoped that the Government would also prosecute their
own supporters too if laws were broken.


3. (C) In response, Merabishvili chuckled that he, like the
rest of Tbilisi, really had no idea of what the opposition
was trying to accomplish in the streets. He said that all
agreed in the Government that force would not be used against
the protesters. According to Merabishvili, the Government
had organized focus groups over the past few weeks consisting
of UNM ruling party supporters, neutrals and opposition
supporters. What had been striking was that the focus groups
showed that even the government supporters did not want a
police crackdown. Merabishvli took on board the
Ambassador's comments regarding retribution, noting that he
understood. He noted that when the police tried to
investigate incidents involving opposition supporters, the
opposition had not provided assistance or support.
Merabishvili said that he was sure that most of the funding
for the protests was still coming from Nino Burjanadze and
that approximately 1 million GEL (about $600,000) had been
spent already to keep protesters in the streets.


4. (C) At a separate May 1 meeting with Deputy FM (and
Saakashvili insider) Giga Bokeria, Ambassador made the same
points. Bokeria also agreed that the Government had no plans
to use force and understood that there should be no
retribution against the opposition once the protest actions
were over. However, Bokeria also argued that the Government
needed to uphold law and order, and that if the protests did
not end soon, the public's anger against the protesters would
turn into anger against the Government for not taking action.
TEFFT