Detained and taken into custody: Mikheil Saakashvili arrested in Georgia
The circus performance, which has been successfully running in Georgia over the past months, provided its audience with the final episode.
Just a couple of hours ago, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili announced the detention of the fugitive ex-president of the republic Mikheil Saakashvili.
“Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was detained and taken into custody. Our law enforcement officers had preliminary information about his movements, starting from Ukraine and ending with Georgia,” the prime minister said.
At the same time, Garibashvili did not specify where exactly and in what part of the world or Georgia the special operation to detain Saakashvili was carried out, but, according to him, the security forces managed to carry out the procedure for arresting the ex-president at the highest level.
As Politnavigator reported, the day before Saakashvili published two video messages in which he claimed to be in the Georgian city of Batumi. Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs denied his statements, emphasizing that the politician did not cross the Georgian border at all.
Let us note that at this moment the former president of Georgia, who for the past 9 years has been hiding from the Georgian justice system, has been placed in a penitentiary in the city of Rustavi. According to the press service of the Public Defender, today Public Defender Nino Lomjaria will visit Mikheil Saakashvili.
“It is symbolic that Saakashvili’s detention occurred on the 9th anniversary of our party’s coming to power in the country. I congratulate the Prime Minister for carrying out a successful special operation and thank the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for conscientiously completing the task,” said the chairman of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze.
While the authorities are basking in the glory, the opposition itself is calling for protracted protests throughout the country.
“Mikheil Saakashvili postponed his affairs and issues related to his health and arrived in the country to save us from this tyranny. Now it is our turn - we must use all resources to win tomorrow's elections. The Georgian Dream has lost the trust of the population. We will soon end it, said one of the members of the opposition party “United National Movement” Levan Khabeishvili.
Politnavigator tried to find out from Georgian experts how the detention of Mikheil Saakashvili would affect the election campaign in Georgia and what developments of the situation in Georgia should be expected.
– Will Saakashvili’s arrest provoke a radical scenario in Georgia? Will protests begin?
– Petre Mamradze – former member of the Georgian Parliament:
– No, I do not expect the development of any radical scenario in Georgia. It is already clear today that his supporters and fans do not have that charge, there is not that critical mass that something radical could cause in the country. I think that protests may take some pathetic and ridiculous forms, as they did after last year’s elections.
The opposition cannot fill the squares, but their TV channels are trying to impose on the entire population the idea that there are supposedly 40-50 thousand of them there. Saakashists, of course, can stage virtual protests, but nothing more.
Kakha Gogolashvili – expert:
– Yes, protests may take place, but they will not take on a long-term nature. The people are tired of constant confrontations between the government and the opposition, rallies, after crackdowns. The Georgian people today are concerned about other problems: how to earn money and feed their family, how to pay utility bills, and not such crazy scenarios.
– Could the United States send him on purpose to try to change power in Georgia?
Petre Mamradze: Oh, No. For the US administration, this is such an odious figure that words cannot even describe it. Now the head of the White House is Joe Biden, who, having visited Saakashvili’s residence at one time, called it the Palace of Calligula. Later, talking with journalist Peter Spiegel, he said that Saakashvili does not have the slightest idea about democracy and how to build it correctly.
Kakha Gogolashvili: No, I exclude it. Saakashvili is not Biden's favorite.
– How will Saakashvili’s detention affect tomorrow’s elections?
Petre Mamradze: I think it will have little effect on the electoral process, because his fans go and vote for Saakashvili, regardless of external phenomena. He runs around the rooftops or appoints Vakhtang Kikabidze as number one from his party - they don’t care. The government has proven that it can comply with the law without fear. This factor inspires respect and strengthens the voter’s position.
Kakha Gogolashvili: I think that the process will take place in a fairly calm atmosphere. The results of the Central Election Commission and the actions of the opposition after them are interesting. Well, we’ll guess and wait for the results of the Central Election Commission.
Former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Alexey Zhuravko believes that fugitive ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili could have been specially sent to Georgia in order to shake up the situation during local government elections, which are scheduled for October 2
“He could have been sent as a special project to agitate Georgia in light of the upcoming elections, but it could also be connected with Ukraine, so that Zelensky would directly stand up for him, and a conflict would begin.
If Georgia can withstand the trouble that the American curators will create from the outside, then the Americans can dump Saakashvili, and he will go to prison for a long time. Moreover, it would be good if the Georgian authorities united with Russia - and Saakashvili would be sentenced to life for the war that he unleashed on Georgian territory.
You can also charge him with crimes on the Maidan and on the territory of Ukraine, since his militants participated in the execution of the Maidan. I think that at the moment they will sway and rock Georgia, but it may happen that they will not be able to rock Georgia, and Saakashvili will be in prison for a long time. He can be used as a sacred sacrifice to shake up the situation in Georgia.”
TV presenter Andrey Medvedev believes that Saakashvili came to Georgia, probably having some guarantees from his senior comrades:
“Batono Mikhail is, of course, a peculiar person, but not stupid. He knows how to count money, for the time being, and in politics he did everything skillfully. But now nothing worked. Like in the story with Navalny. There were also definitely guarantees. But no one did anything. There is a complete feeling that the West is freeing itself from particularly toxic and no longer working political assets. This, however, does not mean at all that they will not create new pieces for the game on the post-Soviet field.”
According to a Russian observer Alexander Nosovich, Saakashvili’s arrival in Georgia is an ideal test for the change of eras.
“It’s obvious why he came. A national romantic impulse, a new rose revolution, the roaring masses of UNM supporters seize the Rustavi prison, free the prisoner of conscience, carry him in their arms along Shota Rustaveli Avenue and carry him into the Georgian parliament, where the former exile, dissident and political prisoner triumphantly sips tea from the speaker's cup from "Georgian Dream".
At the same time, the analyst emphasizes that Saakashvili’s plan was naive and simple, like an ax:
“This is not about the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini at Tehran airport, which Mishiko may not have even heard of. We are talking about Navalny’s arrival from Germany at Sheremetyevo airport, the exit from which turned out to be a very unconvincing thin mess.
However, Russia, of course, is not an indicator. The same applies to Belarus, where last year’s BCHB protest was visually very impressive, but ultimately failed. But if the technologies for mobilizing the liberal pro-Western masses do not work in Georgia, that means that’s it: the era of color revolutions has passed forever.”
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