Interview with Nino Burjanadze, one of the organizers of protest rally

‘Until now I used to call Saakashvili an autocrat, but now I declare with certainty that in Georgia there is a raging dictatorship like in North Korea. I can’t imagine how fair elections can be held here. Those who believe this are either very naive or have a deal with the authorities’- declared Nino Burjanadze, chairperson of ‘Democratic Movement’; we talked with her about the events that unfolded during and

N.B. – What a hatred and aggression they have with regard to people. Somebody may condemn me but how could I imagine that Georgian Special forces would be more merciless than Rodionov’s and Soviet forces. Having broken the people’s bones how can they speak about elections? They brought them to the knees saying if they cursed Burjanadze they wouldn’t beat them. They went furious when absolute majority refused to do it.

Awful sounds are coming out from police custody. They are severely dealing shortly with people. Even more – a close person of a man who was released from prison said that two more people died there. One of them had a wound in the head and died of perfusion. The other one had asthma and when they were beating him he said he was ill but they thought he was feigning sickness and beat him even more. He fainted and when a doctor was brought his pulse couldn’t be felt.

Q.- You said that before dispersion you sent a message to one of the opposition leaders requesting to stand by your side. Who was that leader?

N.B. – Does it matter now? Not everything can be said but still it’s a fact that nobody responded, nobody uttered a word. If opposition voiced their protest the authorities might not dare reprisals. But everybody kept mum.

Q. – We’ve seen Interior Ministry’s film shots in which you are talking to your son. In this dialog incursion of Russian ‘GRU’ into Georgia is mentioned. They also point out not peaceful struggle but ‘Molotov cocktails’ and small iron balls for injuring people.

N.B. – The authorities must produce sanctions on the basis of which they eavesdropped the conversation with my son as well as those in the restaurant. These tapes are taken out of context and fabricated. My son is speaking in a tone that is characteristic to young men. He said if I believed that the country was being ruined and help was need then we should sacrifice ourselves.

When speaking with my son, Anzoriko, ‘GRU’ was used in a context that I had mentioned in my interviews more then once. Saakashvili used to say the same – in case somebody fired a gun Russians would storm into Georgia. Did Anzoriko say anything different? I am doing nothing that is against my country’s interests. They showed us so much nonsense, ‘Molotov’ cocktails; said I was in liaison with ‘GRU’. What else could they do with me, they beat and almost killed people but where is ‘GRU’ with whom we were allegedly connected?

Q. – It seems they betrayed you.

N.B. – They have funny logics. At the parade Saakashvili said that Burjanadze fled. He didn’t look himself because he knew he went the limit and I won’t pardon him. I won’t forgive his creation of hatred of police and Special Forces against me. Saakashvili has poisoned the people’s minds with some dirt and invented blames against me and it will take much effort on my part to make this people believe the truth. I won’t pardon this dishonest, immoral, rascal, coward, liar Saakashvili the fact that he set this people against me. I may pardon him anything but this.

Q. – What will you do?

N.B. – I will fight to the end and all the same will defeat him. He is the one who knows my abilities and he knows that I’ll defeat him. If I was planning a coup why aren’t they arresting me? If the authorities knew for two months that we were designing a coup, had a group of 4.000-strong armed people and ‘GRU’s support, why did they take us as far as May 21? Why didn’t they arrest us and avert crime? But they know all too well that it is idiocy, foolishness and lie; that’s why they didn’t arrest us.

If it were Putin’s plan, Saakashvili would be hanging on a tree by now.