Grigol Gegelia: Gela Geladze was the head of the School Resource Officer Service during Saakashvili’s time, which carried out repressions in schools—he will pursue a repressive policy in the Ministry of Internal Affairs as well

“We know very well that neither Gomelauri nor Kobakhidze make such decisions. All such matters are decided by Bidzina Ivanishvili. If Ivanishvili told Kobakhidze to jump off the Metekhi Bridge, he would do it.

This country has a ‘prime minister–servant’. This is a college of servants who will act exactly as Mr. Bidzina orders,” said Grigol Gegelia, leader of ‘Lelo - Strong Georgia,’ on Palitra News’ program “Day’s Newsroom,” in response to the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri.

According to him, Gomelauri’s claim that “the country is in a peaceful state” is absurd. As Gegelia noted, “it is a disgrace to call the current situation in the country peaceful in any way.”

“Today there is everything in the country except peace. There is total chaos and lawlessness; criminal gangs are rampaging in the streets. When journalists, women, and children are being attacked—if Gomelauri thinks this is peace, then we’ve really been in a bad state for years while he’s been in charge of national security. It is a disgrace to call the current state of the country peaceful in any sense.

We know very well that neither Gomelauri nor Kobakhidze make such decisions. All such matters are decided by Bidzina Ivanishvili. We should abandon any illusion that Gomelauri was even asked whether he wanted to resign. If Ivanishvili tells Kobakhidze to jump off the Metekhi Bridge, he will do it. This country does not have a prime minister; at best, it has a ‘prime minister–servant.’ This is a college of servants who act exactly as Mr. Bidzina orders.

At the same time, Gomelauri’s resignation is part of ongoing clan rivalries. Irakli Kobakhidze is trying to monopolize power. It is interesting to see that six months after the elections, half of the ‘Georgian Dream’ cabinet has been replaced. This is a sign that the government is in crisis. It shows internal weakness and instability...

Gomelauri put his own security, freedom of movement, and financial well-being at risk when he ended up on the sanctions list for serving Bidzina. I doubt Gomelauri ever had any real autonomy. I often heard that he wanted to leave the system. But if he had any real values, he could never have been the Minister of Internal Affairs for ‘Georgian Dream.’ And I wouldn’t be surprised if now, even at the last moment, he wanted to save himself. Staying in the service of this regime after 2022—when the government has become even more clearly pro-Russian—means these people have no values,” he said.

Regarding Gela Geladze’s appointment as Minister of Internal Affairs, Gegelia believes he will implement a repressive policy. He also said that during Saakashvili’s rule, Geladze was the head of the School Resource Officer Service and was ‘a slave of Merabishvili’s slave.’

“Geladze was a slave of Merabishvili’s slave. He was the head of the School Resource Officer Service during Saakashvili’s rule, a time when that service carried out repressions in schools. It’s laughable that people ask me questions about Saakashvili—because the entire system of that time is embodied in today’s system. The same is happening in the State Security Service and the judiciary. Geladze was part of that system. People like Adeshvili’s deputy Mikhanadze or Batumi’s former mayor Chikovani have no right to speak up now. In today’s system, I see the same people. The new Interior Minister is a man who carried out Shashkin’s orders, who in turn carried out Merabishvili’s orders. A man who was Saakashvili’s School Resource Officer Service head will pursue a repressive policy,” said Gegelia.

On other topics, Gegelia also responded to the letter Donald Trump sent to Mikheil Kavelashvili. He called it “just an ordinary, templated congratulatory message.”

“We saw Secretary of State Rubio’s greeting, where he congratulates the Georgian people, not the government, on Independence Day. That is a clear expression of official foreign policy. As for Trump’s letter, we haven’t seen the full text. In the excerpts ‘Georgian Dream’ published, there’s no political substance. It’s strange to me that there’s no mention of many issues in that passage, including Georgia’s territorial integrity, which is usually referenced in these greetings. It would be interesting to hear the embassy’s position as well. From what we saw, it’s just a protocol greeting. I’d really like to see the full text,” he said.