Signs of destabilization in Georgia

From time to time, some materials in the media suggest that the former United National Movement government is trying to destabilize the situation in Georgia.

On April 7, new Interior Minister Alexander Tchikaidze said in his interview with Prime Time tabloid that the UNM might try to destabilize the situation in the country aimed at changing the current Georgian leadership.

According to Tchikaidze, there is reason to believe that the UNM are organizing and mobilizing special groups of people (probably with a criminal past), to provoke unrest in the country. The minister also suggested that activists from Ukraine have come to Georgia to share their experiences.

So, Minister Tchikaidze drew an apocalyptic picture.

The UNM, now in parliamentary minority, immediately responded to this accusation by demanding that the interior minister appear in front of the parliament session and back-up his accusations with evidence.

UNM MP Zurab Japaridze even suggested that Tchikaidze should be given a drug test. UNM MPs call Minister Tchikaidze’s accusations “delirium.”

However, the Georgian Dream Coalition MPs view the interior minister’s words as a serious warning. For instance, MP Giorgi Volski said that because the UNM has lost its position in the country, it has become frustrated and desperate. He also said that they do not have peaceful plans for the future. According to Volski, they have an obsession with returning to the government.

Leader of the Democratic Movement – United Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, thinks that the UNM will do everything possible to destabilize the country. She thinks that the UNM’s position can be attributed to the incompetent and weak Georgian administration that is currently in office.

Analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze does not exclude the possibility of Ukrainian-type unrest taking place in Georgia. However, if this does happen, it will finally destroy the UNM.

It is also possible that Tchikaidze’s words represent a deliberate leak of information as a preventive measure to warn the United National Movement not to take irresponsible steps.

Minister Tchikaidze may have to answer some awkward questions in front of the legislative body as well. Either way, under these circumstances, when there is turmoil surrounding the Ukrainian issue, Georgia should be very careful. It should be ready for any challenge and developments.

The country has determined its western orientation and the strategy for achieving this goal should be designed and performed in a appropriate way.