Ruling party Chair thanks Interior Minister, police for handling riots amid protest rallies

Irakli Garibashvili, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday praised the Interior Minister and the police for their efforts in handling recent riots amid the protest rallies.

In his remarks, Garibashvili added that it had been the Interior Ministry and the State Security Service that had prevented a “coup and revolution” from taking place in the country.

“The violence that the entire public witnessed [at protest rallies] is absolutely unacceptable. Look at how our heroic, praiseworthy police officers, special forces, patrol officers, and firefighters were attacked”, the ruling party Chair said.

He further stressed that an attack on a police officer was an attack on the state itself, noting “this is absolutely unacceptable”.

Garibashvili extended his gratitude, “both as an ordinary citizen and as the party Chair”, to the Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, each and every police officer, and special forces.

“They handled these processes very well. It must be said directly that it was the police, along with the security services, that prevented a coup and revolution in our country. We know very well that their [the opposition's] main goal was, as it has been for the past 12 years, to return to power through a coup. These violent, fascist forces”, he concluded.