I would like to thank the Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri. I don’t even want to imagine, given the large-scale violence that we saw yesterday from violent groups, how this rally would have ended if Vano Merabishvili or Giorgi Gakharia had been the Minister of Internal Affairs yesterday, - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated.

According to him, under the conditions of Merabishvili and Gakharia, the rally would have ended with several deaths and people “having their eyes gouged out.”

“I would like to thank the Minister of Internal Affairs and each police officer who yesterday repelled the attack on the constitutional order of Georgia and stood guard over the sovereignty and independence of Georgia. I would like to thank the Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri. I don’t even want to imagine, given the large-scale violence we saw yesterday from violent groups, how this rally would have ended if Vano Merabishvili or Giorgi Gakharia had been the Minister of Internal Affairs yesterday. The murder of a few people or the gouging out of the eyes of a few people would be the minimum result that such a rally would have ended with. Vakhtang Gomelauri and the Ministry of Internal Affairs acted yesterday with a standard higher than the American and European ones and, observing the principle of proportionality, prevented the most serious attack on the constitutional order of Georgia.

I would like to call on the police to show maximum patience and refrain from excessive use of force. Yesterday, there were several unfortunate incidents that we should not allow in the future. Let us remind you that any such incident is used by the radical opposition and its violent groups to cover up their brutal violence,” Kobakhidze said.