GD Rails Against ‘Deep State’, ‘Global War Party’, Doubles Down on Conspirationism
On January 8, the political council of Georgian Dream released an extensive statement revisiting its tried-and-tested conspiracy theories and criticizing recent financial sanctions and visa restrictions imposed by Western countries on Georgian officials and politicians. The ruling party labeled these measures as “anti-Georgian steps” orchestrated by what it calls the “Global War Party” and “deep state” networks. “These decisions should once again be assessed as anti-Georgian steps that undermine the Georgian society’s trust in Western institutions,” the statement reads.
“Deep State” and GWP
The party claimed that countries with stronger “deep state” influence demonstrate increasingly “anti-Georgian” positions, and the more entrenched the “deep state” is in a given country, “the more anti-Georgian the attitude of the respective country towards the Georgian state and the Georgian people is.” According to the statement, “every single politician and bureaucrat who makes anti-Georgian statements—be they presidents, prime ministers, parliamentarians, members of the European Parliament, diplomats, or officials—is a member of the ‘deep state’ network.”
The statement reiterated the GD narrative about the alleged “demands and threats that were voiced behind closed doors,” saying they now “finally took on a public form”: “Either you fight or I will punish you” – this is the simple message that Georgia and the Georgian people receive from the global war party.” The GD then alleged that the “Global War Party is irritated by the uncompromising position of the Georgian people, which did not allow the collective national movement, or the agency of the Global War Party, to return to power and drag Georgia into war again” and that’s what it now wants “to punish the Georgian people.”
Sanctions
Defending party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri against Western sanctions, the statement argues that Ivanishvili was targeted “for replacing bloody authoritarianism with democratic governance” and growing Georgia’s economy “from 28 billion to 90 billion.” It claims Gomelauri and ‘heroic police officers’ were sanctioned “for effectively thwarting three violent attempts to overthrow the government in the past two years.”
The GD recalled the Franklin D. Roosevelt quote [about the dictator of Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza]: “He may be a son of a bi*ch, but he’s our son of a bi*ch” to explain why former officials such as Vano Merabishvili and Giorgi Gakharia have not been sanctioned while in office, despite violent police actions against protesters during their tenures as interior ministers.
“It is noteworthy that sanctions against Georgia were first imposed on the Ukrainian government, whose top officials openly called on the Georgian government to open a second front,” the statement says, adding: “This was followed by sanctions on the Baltic states, which have practically completely lost their sovereignty and are forced to act entirely at the behest of the “Deep State”.”
War in Ukraine
The ruling party reiterated its warning against Georgia’s potential “Ukrainization” and claimed that “as long as the first front exists in Ukraine, there will always be interest in opening a second front in Georgia.” Again, invoking the “deep state,” the GD alleged that it has engulfed many countries around the world in the flames of war, with the most severe effect of this “reflected in our friendly country – Ukraine.” The statement then describes the dire state of the Ukrainian economy and the devastation caused by the war, conspicuously avoiding mentioning Russia in this context and instead putting the responsibility for the war on “Maidan revolution’s architects.”
President-Elect Donald Trump
Georgian Dream’s statement praised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump‘s efforts to dismantle the “deep state” and drew a sharp contrast between Trump’s administration and current Western policies. Citing Trump’s remarks that “either America will destroy the deep state, or the deep state will destroy America,” the party framed his presidency as a beacon of hope for resetting U.S.-Georgia relations.
EU Membership
The party reiterated that EU membership could only be considered after 2030, once the European Union has “fully overcome the challenges of informal oligarchic influence and the ‘deep state.'” The statement criticized EU institutions, particularly highlighting “five resolutions adopted by the European Parliament regarding Georgia,” which it claimed demanded “punishment of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the release of Saakashvili and other criminals, the repeal of laws against LGBT propaganda.”
Attack on Helsinki Commission Chair, Rep. Joe Wilson
In its statement, Georgian Dream leveled allegations against the Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Congressman Joe Wilson, portraying him as a figure aligned with the so-called “deep state” and pursuing actions harmful to Georgia’s sovereignty. The ruling party alleged that Wilson’s promotion of the “MEGOBARI Act,” which it referred to as a “Hostile Act,” was financially promoted and influenced by Davit Kezerashvili, a former Georgian defense minister. Describing Kezerashvili as “a fraudster who has robbed many European pensioners”, GD claimed that the funds allegedly misappropriated by Kezerashvili were used to fund Wilson’s initiatives and “blackmail Georgia with sanctions”. The statement said: “Joe Wilson is one of the most serious manifestations of the ‘deep state’ – a degraded politician with no political culture who bluntly threatens to punish us if we do not go to war.”
The statement mentions another grievance against the senior U.S. Congressman and, building on GD’s homophobic conspiracy narratives, reads: “It should be noted that Joe Wilson, who presents himself as a conservative politician, has never once condemned Anthony Blinken’s decision to ban referring to a man as a man and a woman as a woman, which was unanimously rejected by President Trump’s team,” and concludes: “Therefore, it is not surprising that Wilson is faithfully continuing Blinken’s line in the part of punishing Georgia.”
“Only through peace, dignity, and prosperity towards Europe and within Europe — this is the motto that should become the key principle of coexistence not only for Georgia but for every EU member state by 2030,” the statement concludes.
Also Read:
- 04/01/2025 – Helsinki Commission Leaders Reintroduce MEGOBARI Act in Congress
- 01/01/2025 – Joe Wilson Urges Sanctions Against Ivanishvili’s Immediate Family and Cronies, “Dismantling of Sanction Evasion Schemes”
- 20/12/2024 – U.S. State Department Statement on Sanctioning Georgian MIA Officials for Serious Human Rights Abuses against Protesters
- 19/12/2024 – UK Sanctions Senior Georgian Authorities, Including Minister of Interior
- 17/12/2024 – Senator Cardin Calls for U.S. Magnitsky Sanctions on GD Over Brutal Crackdown on Protesters
- 16/12/2024 – Estonia Sanctions Kobakhidze, 14 Other Officials Over Crackdown
- 15/12/2024 – Lithuania Sanctions Kobakhidze, 16 Other Officials Over Crackdown
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