Georgian Prime Minister Advocates for Conservatism and Slams “False” Values at CPAC
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili addressed the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, expressing his gratitude to his “dear friend, Prime Minister Orbán” and lauding him as “a wise and visionary national leader.” He praised Hungary’s defense of its national interests and fundamental values, calling Orbán “truly an exemplary politician (ruler), fighter and striving Christian man.” In his speech he slammed those who propagate “false freedoms” aimed at destruction of traditional values.
Garibashvili spoke of the challenges that Georgia, like many other nations, has faced, including “fight for freedom, civil wars, occupation, economic collapse, and autocratic regimes.” He highlighted the current “dramatic event in history” brought on by the “complex economic and humanitarian crisis caused by the pandemic” and “large-scale military conflict on the European continent.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that Georgia knows the price of peace, saying, “when necessary, we fight selflessly to protect our freedom, our families, and our homeland.” He stressed Georgians commitment to peace efforts, saying: “In Afghanistan, we were the largest per capita contributor to the Resolute Support Mission. 32 brave Georgian soldiers died in this mission, and hundreds were injured.”
Garibashvili stressed the importance of traditional values, saying: “adherence to traditions does not mean that we stand against innovation” but cautioning that “evil often comes exactly in the name of innovation.” He echoed the words of Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, who summarized traditional Georgian values as “God, Homeland, and Human being.”
The Prime Minister warned of forces that seek to undermine traditional values and control people by “coercing false freedoms” and promoting “LGBTQ+ propaganda” and “gender-affirming procedures for children.” He stated that “our main weapon and foundation is traditional, Christian, conservative, family values” and pledged to protect the rights of the majority, who believe in the definition of marriage as “the union between a man and a woman.” He added: “The family is a union between a man and a woman; where a woman is a mother, and a man is a father”.
Giving a nod towards the multiple confessions of Georgia underlined that “tolerance is our unique tradition” And added: “the threat is not the religion, minorities, or different opinion, but rather those, who are without faith or values, armed with cynicism, often in the name of religion, democracy, and freedom – actually opposing freedom and truth”.
Garibashvili underlined that “the absolute majority of our society shares traditional, conservative, family values”. He then went on to say: “We will not support the minority’s attempts to change with aggressive propaganda the values, which the majority of our population considers to be given by God, on which the Georgian identity, uniqueness, and our entire history are based”.
Prime Minister stressed: “I want to state once again that Georgia has a rightful place in Europe – Georgia deserves the EU candidate status”!
He concluded his speech by affirming that Georgia’s “superpower” is its “faith, our family traditions, our eternal and universal values,” and calling for unity in the fight against “the evil that comes in the name of false freedom and false truth.”
Also Read:
- 26/04/2023 –PM Garibashvili Slated to Push Anti-LGBT Message at Ultra-Conservative Meeting in Hungary
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