GD Leaders Double Down on Anti-Western, Sovereignist, Conspiracy Rhetoric

On April 29, the Georgian Dream party held a rally on Rustaveli Avenue in support of the Foreign Agents Law. Participants, many of whom are reportedly public sector employees from various provinces of Georgia, were bussed to Tbilisi by the ruling party to join the event. Georgian Dream leaders, including Bidzina Ivanishvili who made a rear public appearance, addressed the crowd with messages steeped in conspiracy theories, ultra-conservative and sovereignist rhetoric, and leveled accusations towards the CSOs and unnamed “people who want to enslave and oppress this country.”

PM Irakli Kobakhidze’s Address

In his address, PM Kobakhidze highlighted that Georgia is “an independent and sovereign state” and claimed that GD wants the EU membership without compromising Georgia’s “independence, sovereignty, and values.” In this context, he accused “specific influential forces” of misperceiving the EU as a union of “weak states which should be devoid of identity and values.”

“When a country becomes a member of the EU, not only does the EU let that country into its home, but that country also lets the EU into its home. Therefore, Georgia has the full right to ask the European Union to respect our sovereignty and values before it enters our home,” PM Kobakhidze said.

He quoted Winston Churchill’s saying, “There are no permanent friends or enemies, only interests,” and claimed that “the examples of Afghanistan and Ukraine proved once again that the only permanent friend of a state is its sovereignty. Sovereignty is the strongest guarantee of a country’s security. That is why we cannot give into any demand that implies giving up Georgia’s independence.”

The Prime Minister praised Bidzina Ivanishvili at length, saying:”We represent the political team founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili. Bidzina Ivanishvili gave each of us an example of dedication, humanity, pragmatism and patience for the country. He gave us an example of selfless patriotism and national work. He gave us an example of how to do one’s best to protect and preserve the identity and character of one’s country. Bidzina Ivanishvili gave us an example of how to put oneself aside when it is necessary for the salvation and liberation of the country. The people who want to enslave and oppress this country cannot forgive Bidzina Ivanishvili’s loyalty to Georgia and the national cause. We thank Bidzina Ivanishvili for the fact that today Georgia has peace and economic progress. We thank him for the fact that we became a candidate country for EU membership with peace and economic progress.”

He further lashed out at some unnamed forces who as he said “for several months now.. have been threatening us that if we do not give up the independence of the Central Election Commission and the court, they will not open negotiations with the European Union.”

He added that “they” opened negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, “while Georgia is one step ahead” of these countries, he argued “in terms of democracy, rule of law, human rights, strength of institutions, lack of corruption and economic development.” He concluded: “That is why it is in the European Union’s interest, first and foremost, to restore justice as soon as possible.”

Kobakhidze reiterated accusations against what he termed “the radical opposition and affiliated NGOs,” alleging their involvement in orchestrating revolutions. “We would like to remind you that for the past three years, the government has prevented all attempts to disrupt the country, kept the country at peace and obtained the candidate status. This proves that if you don’t bow to anyone and stand with dignity, you will get a dignified outcome.” He also lashed out at the opposition supporters, saying they too are responsible for the opposition’s “permanent enmity towards the state.”

He said the recent protests against the foreign agents bill were the actions of “political minority” and accused the protester’s of having “a mindset of slaves.” Addressing his supporters, PM Kobakhidze said the upcoming Parliamentary elections would also be a referendum “on the legislation on the pseudo-liberal propaganda and NGOs,” and expressed confidence in GD’s decisive triumph.

Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s Speech

In his fiery remarks, Mayor Kaladze reiterated GD’s core ultra-conservative messages – family, faith, identity – and linked them to the personality of the party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili. “We are a freedom-loving nation! We have a goal – to become a member of the big family called Europe with our own identity and sovereignty, solid moral values, family strength, inviolability of faith, full independence.”

“They try to convince us that white is black. They tell us that transparency is bad and LGBT propaganda is good. They are telling us that NGOs have the right to try to organize as many revolutions in Georgia as they like, and that we should not even ask where their money comes from,” he said adding: “If they plan the revolution again, it will turn out that the Georgian people should not even know where the money comes from and who is financing the said revolution.”

He went on to say that “the past few weeks have once again confirmed and shown us that more than 90 per cent of the funds allocated to NGOs are used to strengthen the “agents’ network” in Georgia.” According to Kaladze “it turned out that even most of the money supposedly spent on agriculture, care for the disabled or the Caucasian House was not spent in vain. As soon as they needed it, they brought forward all these NGOs together and used them against the national interests.”

He then said: “That is why, today, it is especially important to stand together and push through to the end, in order to fundamentally strengthen the sovereignty of our country and its traditional values, not to allow the loss of independence, earned by blood… We must fight for it today and do everything to be independent, to be free.”

He gave out a warning: “I want everyone to know one thing, both inside and outside the country – Georgia will never be anyone’s vassal. We act and will act only in the interests of the country. We will prove to everyone, absolutely everyone, that Georgia deserves independence and sovereignty, without which all state tasks lose all value.”

Similarly to PM Kobakhidze, Mayor Kaladze too accused “certain forces” of not tolerating the fact that “Georgia did not share Ukraine’s fate.” He also alleged that over 90 percent of the CSOs’ money goes into strengthening “agentocracy.”

“They tell us, Georgians directly that it’s none of our business and we have no right to know who is financing pseudo-liberal propaganda in our country, attacks on the Orthodox Church, drug propaganda, radicalism and constant attempts to destroy the country. They tell us that the Georgian people should not know this, but we will not allow it under any circumstances,” Mayor Kaladze said, adding that “our current struggle to pass laws on NGOs and LGBT propaganda is not really a struggle to pass two laws. It is a decisive struggle to protect the sovereignty and national identity and interests of Georgia.”

Mayor Kaladze also thanked Bidzina Ivanishvili for making national sovereignty a cornerstone of policy, which, he argued, allowed Georgia to guard peace and freedom. He said Ivanishvili is a target of attacks by “radicals without the motherland and their foreign partners” because the nation “has no bigger protector of its interests” than Ivanishvili.

At the end of his speech Kaladze recalled that “some people” liked Saakashvili “because he was against the national interests and did everything he was told. They don’t like Bidzina Ivanishvili precisely because today he is the main guarantor of our country’s national interests in Georgia, and we will always love our country with these principles and these approaches.”

He ended by saying he is “sure” that in a few years “Georgia will become a member of the European Union as an independent, sovereign state firmly based on national values. Georgia first!”

GD Chair Garibashvili

GD Chair and former PM Garibashvili recalled 2012 when according to him Georgian people showed the intention to live in “a democratic, free, sovereign, and peaceful country” and liberated the country from “anti-national, repressive, treasonous regime” under the leadership of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

According to Garibashvili, they gathered once again “to show everyone, inside and outside the country that we will defend our dignity, sovereignty, and freedom till the end.”

In his speech, he also referred to the “dramatic developments” unfolding in the world with “wars going on in a near region. Twenty percent of our territories remain occupied by Russia and that’s why our goal and main task is to ensure peace and stability. Today we all must realize that peace has no alternative.”

Garibashvili added that “despite many provocations, attempts at destabilization and revolutions in recent years, we managed to ensure peace in this most difficult time. For the first time, we have long and continuous peace in the country, which is primarily thanks to our leader Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili.”

He claimed that there are “forces” who cannot tolerate Georgian people ruling their own country. In this context, he said “it is clear that the world order is changing and the world of tomorrow will not be the same as it was yesterday. The essence of the unique Georgian experience in this situation is to protect our national interests first and remind everyone that the new order should be based on equality, the pursuit of peace and respect for the uniqueness and individuality of all nations.”

He accused certain forces of trying to undermine democracy and sovereignty of Georgia using domestic “hostile actors.” According to Garibashvili, enemy forces are trying to impose “pseudo-liberal values on us, they fight against our traditional, Georgian, family values, they try to return the Georgian people to oppressor criminals to power.”

Garibashvili believes defending traditions does not mean rejecting progress, but “the evil often wants to find the way back in the name of renewal and progress.”

“Of course we seek no confrontation, we say a simple thing. We defend our interests, we defend our country, we serve neither the West nor the East, nor the North or South; we serve Georgia… Therefore, today, my dears, the choice is clear – either peace, stability and development, or again war, chaos and disorder.”

The article was updated on 30:04:2024 at 13:15 to reflect Chair Garibashvili’s speech.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)