Speaking to journalists, Papuashvili said the demonstration reflected the true face of the opposition and described it as an event organized by figures associated with former President Mikheil Saakashvili and the United National Movement.

“As they say, no matter how much you hide an illness, it will eventually reveal itself. Yesterday we saw the ‘National Movement’ rally with all its aesthetics, posters, slogans, and faces. It was an event organized by Mikheil Saakashvili’s former officials - Gvaramia, Bokeria, Vashadze. This is what the Georgian people truly saw,” Papuashvili stated.

According to him, the opposition attempted to create a radical atmosphere but failed.

“We saw their attempts to somehow create a radical momentum, but they no longer even have that energy. I think yesterday was a verdict for the radical opposition. The few thousand people gathered around them are exactly that Facebook bubble which imagines itself to be society. In reality, what we saw yesterday was just one Facebook friend list,” he said.

Papuashvili also argued that it was symbolic that, on Georgia’s Independence Day, the opposition was allegedly acting in the interests of foreign actors rather than national ones.

“It is symbolic that on Independence Day, while society celebrates sovereignty and independence, the radical opposition is engaged in servile behavior, once again trying to carry out the instructions of foreigners. They themselves admitted several times that these events were organized so others abroad could see and count them in order to continue supporting them,” he stated.

He criticized the presence of foreign flags at the rally and accused the opposition of trying to subordinate Georgia to outside influence.

“When on Independence Day the radical opposition marches with slogans about subordinating the country to others, when we see foreign flags waving and appeals aimed at foreign audiences, this is the essence of what ‘National Movement’ ideology is - not just party affiliation, but an ideology of serving others,” Papuashvili said.

He further claimed that the demonstration showed how limited the opposition’s support base has become.

“In a country of four million people, several thousand individuals should understand that the crowd they see amplified on social media is in reality the small number of people we saw yesterday on Rustaveli Avenue,” he added.

According to Papuashvili, the rally demonstrated that many people have distanced themselves from the opposition since October 4 and now reject attempts to create instability in the country.

“We saw the entire former ruling regime gathered there yesterday - Saakashvili’s prosecutors, security council secretaries, deputy prosecutors, ministers. Fortunately, only a few thousand supporters of this ideology remain. This is the result of the correct policies pursued by the state,” he concluded.