Special Armed Operation – Did It Aim to Root Out Financial Violations or Was It a Mere Demonstration of Power on Behalf of the Police?

Special Armed Operation – Did It Aim to Root Out Financial Violations or Was It a Mere Demonstration of Power on Behalf of the Police?

“Mkhedrionization” of the Government, “Terrorization” of Businessmen and “Democratization” in Georgia

On 16 June the Financial Police, together with the Special Forces, conducted a special operation in the restaurants of the “Nikala” fast-food chain. Prior to the commencement of the operation, both restaurants were full of customers. In one of the restaurant halls a birthday party of a child was being held and the Special Forces broke into the hall without prior notice. At the sight of armed and masked people, customers started panicking. Masked financial police spent two hours in the restaurants looking for evidence of financial violations of the fast-food chain. As a result of the special operation, documents and a computer were confiscated from the restaurants.

On 16 June, masked agents of the Financial Police carried out a special operation in the restaurant “Nikala” to uncover alleged financial violations of the fast-food chain. This operation was met with a public outcry. In response, David Kezerashvili, head of the Financial Police, apologizes to the public and promises to identify and strictly punish all the persons responsible for ordering the operation.

Non-governmental organizations have criticized the Financial Police’s conduct. The Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre (HRIDC) expresses its deep concern regarding the recent wave of anti-democratic actions and human rights violations in Georgia. 

According to the HRIDC, this is yet another attempt of the police to scare and terrorize the public. Unfortunately the actions of Governmental representatives resemble more and more the notorious methods used by “Mkhedrioni” (former armed formation during the civil war in 1990s), and the Executive Government is not doing anything to remedy the situation. These recent events show that the “Mkhedrionization” of governmental structures is already far-gone and with each passing day Georgia is approaching the types of regimes seen in Latin America and Africa. For example, it is regrettable that the once democratic and truly objective TV Company “Rustavi2” now assumes an ambiguous position, in that it aired the special operation live on prime-time at 9 pm, making it obvious that the TV Company was notified in advance of the planned operation. It was recently stated by the HRIDC that through these kinds of activities, the Government is trying to spread an atmosphere of terror among businessmen and the general public.

The HRIDC demands that the management of the Financial Police be held responsible for conducting this operation. 

Public Defender Sozar Subari recently commented on the operation, and called it both disgusting and unjustifiable. MPs also agree with the Public Defender. Zviad Dzidziguri, a member of parliament from the opposition party, said that the law-enforcement agents should not be behaving in the same manner as terrorists. They have no right to scare the population. The lawyer David Usupashvili said that the above-mentioned incident was an attempt to demonstrate the power of the police and to scare the people.