“It suddenly turned out that ‘Georgian Dream’ is the party of chemical weapons and is itself the ‘party of war,’ which is at war with its own people and poisons them with chemical agents. Why were they storing this chemical compound at all?! They say it was purchased during the previous government. What is it, cognac, that improves with age?! They kept it so they could use it - that’s why,” said Davit Mzhavanadze, a member of the “Coalition for Change,” during his appearance on PalitraNews’ program “Newsroom,” speaking about the BBC’s investigative report.

According to him, during the protests, authorities “panicked and decided to use chemical weapons.”

“In spite of the massive resources they pour into propaganda - having the entire state apparatus at their disposal to spread their preferred narratives and claim black is white and white is black - this episode showed that they suddenly collapsed, tangled themselves up, and are now making contradictory statements within 24 hours. They brought out former minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and had him say, ‘Yes, we had it, but we didn’t use it.’ This is a man sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act for mass human rights violations, and we’re supposed to take him at his word? They had a stockpile of poisonous substances but didn’t use them - and supposedly the previous regime used them. They pushed this absurd narrative. The next day, they brought out the current minister, who claimed they had no such substance at all. At first, I was skeptical of the allegation - whether it was exaggerated - but after examining their responses, I noticed that not once did they explain what exactly was mixed into that water. They didn’t deny the allegation and offered no clarity. That already confirms that something was added to the water, whether it was really ‘Kamite’ or something worse.”

He also reminded that both the former and current deputy minister, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, said openly on November 30 of last year that “yes, some substance was mixed in.”

“What’s the point of their statements when everyone who stood at that protest knows what those white stains were that appeared on our clothes after the water was sprayed - how it burned our faces, and how even the next day, when no one was on Rustaveli Avenue anymore, you couldn’t walk or breathe there because it burned your airways. Something was definitely sprayed, and everyone saw this. So what the acting minister says now is absurd.

They got completely tangled in propaganda. This confirms the allegation is true. The former minister says, ‘We had it.’ The current one says, ‘We didn’t.’ Let them tell us what exactly they mixed into the water - what they used. That something was used is a 100% fact. Their own deputy confirmed something was mixed into the water, and we all saw it. Neither minister denied it - only Gela­ze tried to spin it. Tell us what substance, permitted by law, was mixed into that water. Either they used Kamite, or something even worse - that’s why they won’t name it. Therefore, the allegation is completely adequate, substantiated, and convincing. Georgian Dream’s propaganda machine, which normally appears invincible, collapsed and crumbled over this issue, and each passing day only further confirms that the accusation is accurate,” Mzhavanadze said.

Regarding the fact that the State Security Service is summoning BBC respondents for questioning, Mzhavanadze stated that “the investigation launched by the SSG is 100% fake.”

“What is the purpose of this? It’s propaganda material - a simulation to reassure their voters. It’s an attempt to create a propaganda umbrella and narrative, but a very unsuccessful one. In the past, investigations or coup allegations were at least based on 2% truth and 98% propaganda. This time it’s 100% false. They’re spouting nonsense and accusing people of cooperating with the hostile organization of a hostile state - when they are talking about the BBC. These summonses serve only that purpose. If this were an objective investigation, why haven’t they summoned Darakhvelidze yet? He openly admitted last year that they were using chemical substances and mixing them into the water. That’s where they should have started. This is all staged for propaganda. No matter how many people they summon or how many briefings the Prosecutor’s Office or other repressive agencies hold, it changes nothing. I believe the allegations against them are very convincing. Everyone saw that the very party accusing others of being the ‘party of war’ turned out to be the real party of chemical weapons - at war with its own people and poisoning them with chemical agents. This is very similar to June 20 events when rubber bullets were used. They panicked - they saw they couldn’t disperse the people. Even after dispersing us eight times, we returned to Rustaveli Avenue the ninth time at 5:00 AM. The repressive apparatus, special forces, and riot police could not withstand it and decided to use chemical weapons. Despite that, the protest continues and has been ongoing for a year.

The most logical prediction is that Gomelauri should be punished, but he won’t be, because he is untouchable for Ivanishvili. Anyone sanctioned in Ivanishvili’s circle essentially has immunity from prison. But I don’t think anyone will be punished. Because for that, they would have to admit everything and confirm they mixed chemical agents into the water. Why were they storing that chemical compound at all?! They said it was purchased under the previous government. It’s not cognac - it doesn’t improve with age. They stored it so they could use it - and they used it. In fact, we can confidently say that the exact same substance was used in the spring of 2024, because similar symptoms and accounts were present then as well. They used it systematically,” Mzhavanadze said.

When asked who might have provided the inventory list to the BBC, Mzhavanadze replied: “It is reasonable to assume that it might have been Irakli Garibashvili.”

“It is logical to suspect that Garibashvili may have provided this information. Giorgi Gakharia should also have had access to such information, though who knows what he does now or why he is abroad. He was a minister and had access to all of this. But based on the article, it seems more likely that current officials provided the information. The regime is struggling to maintain its monolithic control. Their so-called anti-corruption campaign has also been halted. They used to hold five briefings a day, arresting various people, and now they arrest no one. This deepened cracks within the system. We can reasonably assume that there are officials still in the system who leaked this information to the BBC,” Mzhavanadze said.