Nika Melia: Should a politician be with the people or in prison? — Framing the issue this way is like asking: Should a student who is a political prisoner be at university or in prison? Should an actor who is a political prisoner be in the theater or in prison? — The real question is whether you’re playing by Ivanishvili’s rules or not!

"Please, this is not about bail — not about 10,000 or 50,000 GEL. This is about whether you’re playing by Ivanishvili’s rules or not!" — This is how Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change," responds to the question of whether bail should be paid for certain opposition politicians who refused to cooperate with the temporary investigative commission established in Parliament.

As Nika Melia explains, moral superiority is crucial:

"Should a politician be with the people or in prison?" — Framing the issue this way is like asking: Should a student who is a political prisoner be at university or in prison? Should an actor who is a political prisoner be in the theater or in prison? Should a doctor who is a political prisoner be treating people or be in prison? Should a journalist who is a political prisoner be in the media or in prison? And so on.

You either compromise with injustice and shamelessness, or you fight to the end and stay righteous in that fight. Moral superiority is everything — that’s it, and it’s very clear. This is not about paying bail. Out of 50 political prisoners, any of them could be home within a week if they agreed to a compromise. Many from Georgian Dream have said so themselves — for example, that Mzia Amaghlobeli would be released if she simply showed some remorse. I remember Mdinaradze once said about actor Andro Chichinadze: “If I see that he regrets it, I’ll personally vouch for him.”

So I ask you again — this is not about bail, not 10,000, not 50,000. This is about whether you’re playing by Ivanishvili’s rules or not!" — says Nika Melia.