Action Requesting the Resignation of the Gori Mayor Ended up with an Incident

Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli

Representatives of the local government coincided their meetings with the local population with the pre-election campaign and suggested the people to vote for Salome Zurabishvili. Later on, the leaders of the local self-government need to clarify their statements about the GD supported presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili; namely, they tried to clarify her statement about the Russian-Georgian August War. During one of similar meetings, the Gori Mayor decided to support the position of Salome Zurabishvili and said:

“When we started bombardment from our side, what would have happened with us if they had also shot at least one bomb in our direction,” Gori Mayor Konstantine Tavzarashvili said on October 8 during his meeting with the IDPs in Karaleti settlement. He blamed the Government of Georgia in the launch of the August war and bombardment of Tskhinvali.

Later on, Tavzarashvili said that 10 years ago Russia started the war but that time Government of Georgia was easily provoked. Regardless his later clarifications, the Gori mayor is actively criticized in social network and a petition was drafted with the request of his resignation.

Representatives of the movement Russia Is Occupant held a protest demonstration in front of the Gori mayor’s administration on October 10; the participants put fecal masses and wheat on the stairs of the administrative building.

“It is a flash-mob, in the frame of which wheat demonstrates bird-peck for the government which they eat and then get sunk in the fecal masses with their traitor statements.  Let the Gori mayor apologize us publicly, otherwise we will continue demonstrations in front of their house, as he insulted the country,” one of the demonstrators Ana Tcharkhalashvili said.

Gori mayor did not meet the demonstrators; representatives of his administration stated Konstantine Tavzarashvili was on business in Tbilisi.

When the office-cleaner of the Gori mayor’s administration went out to clean the area, the demonstration participants decided to clean the entrance themselves. When they finished cleaning, head of the administrative service of the mayor’s office Temur Manvelishvili went out of the building and put the bucket full of garbage over the head of one of the protesters Giga Makarashvili.

“He approached me from behind and put the bucket full of garbage on my head; then he rushed into the building and warned the safeguards not to allow anybody to enter the building. It is a shame; instead making the mayor responsible for his betrayal statements, they are threatening us,” Giga Makarashvili said.

After the incident, Giga Makarashvili was questioned in the Shida Kartli regional police department of MIA till late night. According to the MIA, the investigation started under Article 126 Part 1 “c” of the Criminal Code of Georgia. However, it is not excluded that the investigation will be re-qualified into Article 114 Part 31 of the CCG – degrading and inhuman treatment. 

Press-center of the Gori municipality administration stated before the investigation is over Temur Manvelishvili will continue working on his position.