GJ – We were so poised and charged that we might have not landed ear even to Patiashvili . . .
SM –
I don’t know! At that moment, probably nobody would have wanted to go home, but if Patiashvili had made a statement on the television during the day, the situation could have taken a totally different twist. He should have made an appearance on the TV and said something like this: ‘Folks, there is going to be a slaughter-house here soon. They are armed and you are not. If this is war, let it be war, but...He could have told his people anything of this style – a leader’s word. But he did not do this . . . And I am not interested why he had not done this . . . The analysis makes no sense any more.
GJ – Let’s go on with the series of events that night... Round about 4 am on the 9th of April, the Russian military personnel appeared in the Rustaveli Avenue. Do you remember?
SM – Of course I do! In the beginning, there were 400 soldiers marching on. A little later, along each parallel street, leading down to Rustaveli Avenue, where the protesters were crowded, the soviet troopers marched towards the manifestation spot. They had instructions to manipulate the crowd so that the situation was created which might instigate breaking of protesters into the government house.
GJ – If this had taken place the troops would have a reason to open fire on the people, and there might have been heavy casualties...
SM – The local militia (police) was more or less informed about this plan of action. They stood between the crowd and the special security forces, not allowing the people to break into the government house. The militia allowed the people to pass through the adjacent street, but security forces would never change their nature - as soon as they noticed that Plan A of manslaughter did not work (further developments of events confirmed that their mission was not just dispersing the protesting crowd but sadistic killing of participants in the peaceful rally), they immediately changed the tactics and used Plan B.
GJ – And what was the Plan B about?
SM – Plan B was about selfsame sadistic killing of the meeting participants who did not choose to leave the rally and go home.
GJ – Regular face-to-face killing of the peaceful people?
SM – And who among those people?! The young women and children! Among the victims of that outrageous action of the soviet regime women made 90 %. They perished not by usage of weapons, but as a result of using digging tools and poisoning gas. The soviet troops chopped up the people and in the morning, having done their atrocious job, left the place calmly.