Nika Gvaramia: Toppling the oligarchy is the mission — If we want people in the streets - Until the last minute we hope things might go differently, but they won’t — This regime relies on arrests and fear

“The task is to topple the oligarchy, if we want people to be out in the streets,” said Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Coalition for Change, in response to the arrest of Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze inside the courtroom during his hearing.

According to Gvaramia, the regime’s repressive stance toward society will only worsen.

“Today was too much. I’ve been in prison many times, but what happened today was really over the line.We need to accept the truth and stop asking questions like ‘Will anything happen?’ —Nothing will change unless the oligarchy is dismantled.We all wait until the last moment thinking maybe it’ll go differently — but it won’t.This regime is built solely on arrests and fear.There’s no room for rational thinking anymore. We have to state it clearly:The mission is to bring down the oligarchy if we want people to stand up,if we want to stop asking what will happen and how.As long as the oligarchy exists, there will be decisions like this — only harsh and radical ones.

Some thought, for example, that because the U.S. said something yesterday, Bidzina would back down —that’s not how it works.Bidzina [Ivanishvili] has no way out now; he’s in a deep dead end.From here on, repression against the public will only intensify, not ease.” — Nika Gvaramia

Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, a member of the Coalition for Change, had his 20,000 GEL bail revoked and was placed in pre-trial detention. The decision was made by Judge Irakli Shvangiradze of the Tbilisi City Court, satisfying the prosecutor’s motion.Japaridze was handcuffed in the courtroom immediately after the verdict was announced.