UNM leader urges mass turnout on 4 October rally, cites fourth anniversary of Saakashvili’s arrest

The United National Movement (UNM) has called for a large protest on 4 October, linking the date to the fourth anniversary of the arrest of former president Mikheil Saakashvili and accusing the ruling elite of operating a “Russian” regime in Georgia.

Speaking on Wednesday, UNM leader Levan Bezhashvili said Saakashvili’s detention - which he described as undertaken “at the cost of his personal life and health” - should serve as extra motivation for Georgians to take to the streets.

“Four years have passed since Mikheil Saakashvili was detained. He stepped down at the cost of his personal safety and health, came to Georgia, sat in Putin’s prison - in Ivanishvili’s regime jail - and from there called on society to struggle. That struggle continues to this day and should be additional motivation for 4 October,” Bezhashvili said.

Bezhashvili framed 4 October as an opportunity to “end the Russian regime” he accuses Bidzina Ivanishvili of having established in Georgia. He repeated a broader UNM argument that, in his view, the country had been steered by forces loyal to Moscow: “This date should be yet another incentive and motivation for 4 October so that the Georgian people, through unity, once and for all finish the Russian regime that Ivanishvili created in Georgia.”

He also invoked 1 October - the date in 2012 that brought the Georgian Dream movement to power - and alleged a continuity of outside influence.

“1 October is also the date when, 13 years ago, Russia carried out a special operation in Georgia. I recall Putin’s statement that what Russia failed to achieve in the 2008 war it would try to achieve by other means - a plan that, sadly, was implemented here in Georgia by people led by Ivanishvili.”

Bezhashvili urged Georgians to turn out “hundreds of thousands” on 4 October to push the country back toward Europe and to “celebrate the people’s victory.”