After Liège Saakashvili to meet Georgian emigrants in Rome
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, February 12
Georgian ex-president in exile, Mikheil Saakashvili, plans to meet Georgian emigrants in Rome, after he already met Georgian diaspora in the city of Belgium, Liège on February 10.
Prior to the meeting in Liège, a physical confrontation took place near the Congress Palace.
The brawl happened between the supporters of ex-president and the people against him, who appeared before the meeting with anti-Saakashvili and his United National Movement (UNM) banners.
The protesters used tear gas in the hall and one of them tried to throw a bottle of water at Saakashvili.
Opposition-inclined TV Company Rustavi 2, which is often referred to as the pro-UNM broadcaster, stated the confrontation was planned by “agent-provocateurs”, who were trying to disrupt the meeting. According to Rustavi 2, a group of aggressive people tried to enter the meeting hall.
However, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (BPB) reports that the supporters of the UNM did not allow the emigrants to enter the hall.
GPB also added that the supporters of the UNM used pepper spray and several people were injured in the incident.
According to Netgazeti, the controversy lasted for a few minutes, after which the protesters left the building and the event organizers locked the door of the building.
During the meeting, Saakashvili introduced his 5-point plan to the emigrants and he spoke about the recent developments in Georgia.
The ex-president noted he would for sure return to Georgia but added the situation is not suitable at present.
“If we go all together today, is the situation prepared for it? The situation is not ready today, but if the situation is not ready today, we should prepare it in the coming weeks and months. You should not be watching your country from here,” he said.
Georgia’s Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani criticized Saakashvili and his supporters, saying they tried to “suppress different opinions” of some people gathered at the meeting.
“If this was a meeting with the emigrants, why was not everyone allowed to attend it? Saakashvili, like he was doing in Georgia, suppressed a different opinion in Liège,” she added.
Saakashvili was the third president of Georgia. He cannot arrive in the country because of the various charges against him.
At present, he lives in the Netherlands, the homeland of his wife, Sandra Roelofs.
