GEORGIA: PROTESTERS TRY TO ENTER POLICE STATION,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000875

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: PROTESTERS TRY TO ENTER POLICE STATION,
GOG RESPONDS

REF: TBILISI 865

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


1. (C) Summary: Georgian non-parliamentary opposition
protests turned violent, May 6 when Giorgi Gachechiladze (a
pop singer known as "Utsnobi" - "Anonymous"),his brother
Levan Gachechiladze and other radical opposition leaders lead
a group of protesters from Parliament to Digomi police
station to protest the detention of three activists being
held in connection with the beating of a journalist on May 5.
When non-parliamentary opposition leaders attempted to enter
the police station by force, they were repelled and 29 people
were injured including six policemen. According to press
reports, there were several radical Georgian priests involved
in clashes with police. Around midnight, protesters withdrew
to Parliament where a number of speakers, including Nino
Burjanadze and Irakli Alasania, denounced the police and GoG
to a crowd of roughly 1000, although the press reported that
Alasania specifically urged that there be no further
violence. Reports that police used rubber bullets and that
protesters at Parliament were arming themselves are not
confirmed, but MOIA denies the reports and an embassy
observer does not believe there was any shooting. The three
activists were released early from pre-trial confinement May
7 at the request of the Georgian Orthodox Church, although
the Deputy Public Defender said that the charges against them
stand. The non-parliamentary opposition plans to begin
gathering and announce further plans at some point the
afternoon of May 7. End Summary.


2. (C) Comment: The protesters crossed a publicly known
MoIA redline when they tried to enter a GoG building by
force. Some details of the incident remain unclear, but the
protesters' attempt to enter the police station by force was
clearly unlawful. This was confirmed by Deputy Public
Defender, Giorgi Chkheidze. Despite a tense environment, our
assessment (based on watching TV footage and first hand
observer accounts) is that the MoIA exercised restraint and
remained inside the police station compound in a defensive
posture, and did not take any further actions once protesters
left the area. It is troubling that after the incident,
rather than urging supporters to remain within a
constitutional framework, non-parliamentary leaders openly
threatened violence. The use of force by the police to
protect the police building, at least initially, did not
galvanize Georgians to rush to support the non-parliamentary
opposition as many of them had expected. The Ambassador
continues to urge dialogue and respect for the law; however,
we are concerned that many of the radicals in the
non-parliamentary opposition are committed to further
confrontation and have decided to bring the protests to a
violent end. We recommend that the Department issue a
statement calling for respect for law and order, perhaps in
conjunction with the EU. End Comment.

Protesters Try to Enter Police Station


3. (C) On Wednesday, May 7, a group of about 500-1000
protesters, led by Giorgi Gachechiladze (Utsnobi),walked to
the Digomi police station (located about two miles from the
Embassy) where three activists were being held for beating a
Public Broadcasting journalist. The group arrived at the
police station at roughly 9 pm. Protesters reportedly waved
sticks through the grates of the fence, shook the fence,
taunted police officers, and demanded entry. According to
Qtaunted police officers, and demanded entry. According to
press reports, police responded by chanting "Misha, Misha".
The protesters, led by Giorgi Gachechiladze, either breached
or attempted to breach the fence and the police responded.
Gachechiladze apparently climbed over the fence, made it
inside, and was then forced to the ground by police. The
press reports he suffered a broken rib. Other
non-parliamentary opposition leaders including, Gia
Maisashvili (Party of the Future),Zviad Dzidziguri
(Conservatives),and Levan Gachechiladze were also injured
when they apparently tried to enter the facility.


4. (C) At some point during the events, protesters started
throwing objects at the riot police. Riot police may have
responded by throwing objects back. Press reports say that
Nino Burjanadze attempted to stop the protesters from
engaging in violence, calling on protesters to "move away
from the fence." During the confrontation, a group of
radical priests appeared and got into brief scuffles with
police officers. The Patriarchate told the Embassy that the
priests involved belong to a splinter group, unaffiliated
with the Patriarchate. After the protesters were stopped
from entering the premises, the police and protesters
disengaged although the protesters remained for an hour or
two period thereafter. Non-parliamentary leaders alleged

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that the police used rubber bullets although so far no
evidence exists to support this claim and the MOIA denied it.
(Embassy Note: An Embassy observer on the scene dismissed
this claim. We note that the use of rubber bullets would
have involved firearms whose discharge would have been
obvious. End Note.) All told, 29 people were injured
including six police officers. Notably, it seems most of the
protesters did not follow their leaders and attempt to get
over the fence. In addition, throughout the fracas, police
remained on guard along the perimeter of the compound, and
did not engage the protesters once they moved away from the
fence.

Back To Parliament - Threats Ensue


5. (C) After midnight, protests moved back to Parliament
where a group of 1000-2000 remained to hear fiery
anti-government speeches. Gubaz Sanikidze (National Forum)
called Saakashvili a "maniac" and threatened police officers
who attacked protesters at the police station. Sanikidze
said that "we know your names, we know your addresses, but we
will not read the list now; however, hours remain before we
read this list and Georgia does not lack hunters." Eka
Beselia (United Georgia) said that they were not obliged to
tolerate illegal acts by the authorities. She repeated
demands for Saakashvili's resignation. Koba Davitashvili
(People's Party) gave an ultimatum to the government to
release the three activists otherwise "we will set them
free." None of non-parliamentary leaders acknowledged that
it was the protesters who initiated the conflict. Irakli
Alasania said it was "our joint duty to put an end to this
violence." He followed up by saying that "we will not resort
to violence and we demonstrated it today when the protesters
arrived at the police station ... in response we have
received bullets and blood." (Embassy Note: Alasania told
the Ambassador privately by phone that there was no
justification for attacking a police station. He criticized
the radicals for marching to the police station without the
consent of the rest of the non-parliamentary opposition.
Once again, Alasania told the Ambassador that he would break
with the non-parliamentary opposition and make an
announcement on Thursday, May 7. End Note).

The Day After


6. (C) The MoIA declined to use this opportunity to break
up the larger protest sites in front of Parliament and the
Public Broadcasters Building, instead voicing its position
that it would allow protests to continue peacefully. The
opposition said it will begin to gather at noon on May 7 and
announce further plans at 5 pm local time. Early on May 7,
at the request of the Patriarchate, the GoG released the
three acivists being held for beating a journalist. The
Patriarchate has issued no further clarifications as to why
it intervened other than expressing its concern with the
tense situation and its view that the release of the
prisoners was important to defusing. At a May 7 MFA briefing
to the Diplomatic Corps on May 7, Deputy FM Nalbandov
reviewed the facts, but had no further information regarding
the incident including whether charges had been filed against
the three released activists and whether the activists had
been treated well while in prison. Nalbandov urged the
Diplomatic Community while issuing calls for dialogue to
express to the opposition the importance of respecting the
law and refraining from violent acts.


7. (SBU) Later on May 7, the MOIA issued a statement
Q7. (SBU) Later on May 7, the MOIA issued a statement
containing the details of the medical exams that the three
detainees reportedly underwent after being arrested on My 5.
The statement noted that all had small bruises and injuries
when they were arrested. According to DFM Nalbandov, all
three appeared healthy when they were released and in media
interviews, none of the three alleged any mistreatment while
in custody. However, one of the detainees later told
journalists that he had been physically and verbally abused
-- "they were hitting and kicking me" -- when he was arrested
and taken to the police station.
TEFFT