Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center - EMC calls on the Government of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to disallow the use of disproportionate and excessive police force against peaceful assembly participants.
It also calls on all political parties to take all measures to de-escalate the political processes and to bring the existing processes back to negotiation mode.
“The use of repressive apparatus by the state during a political crisis has become part of our political experience. It is unfortunate that the ruling political party, which, for years, has based its moral legitimacy on the rejection of repressive practices, in recent years has itself created the experience of repressive dispersal of mass rallies – an organization working on human rights wrote in its official statement - This practice substantially damages the foundations of a democratic and legal state and poses a high risk of violating human life, health, and freedom of assembly. Such a response to the political crisis increases the radicalization of politics and deepens mistrust, nihilism, and polarization”.
Water cannons were deployed by a large number of special forces, mobilized on the spot, without any prior warning – EMC said citing the law on Police: “Pursuant to Article 33, para 3(g) of the Law on Police, the use of water cannons is permitted to prevent a mass breach of the law, to repel a group attack on a state and/or public facility, and in other cases. According to international standards, measures such as tear gas or water cannons, which pose a high risk of harm, can only be used as a last resort, when there is mass violence if all other means have failed to contain the violence”.
