“It is very regrettable that 13 years have passed, and none of the ideals and values that united Georgian society on October 1, 2012, remain. There was a chance for us to embark on a democratic development path once and for all, but after 13 years, we find ourselves in a completely opposite situation,” said Giorgi Sharashidze, one of the leaders of “Gakharia for Georgia,” on PalitraNews’ program “Day Newsroom,” commenting on the 13th anniversary of “Georgian Dream” coming to power and the statement by the party’s founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
According to Sharashidze, “Georgian Dream’s” message that the ideals of October 1, 2012, have not disappeared is “nothing but throwing dust in the eyes of Georgian society.”
“These ideals have not only not disappeared, but they are nowhere to be seen. This letter is filled with propaganda messages from start to finish. In reality, it has no connection to the truth. I’m reminded of the proverb, ‘You reap what you sow,’ meaning ‘Georgian Dream’ accuses others of what it itself is guilty of. ‘Georgian Dream’ is the one serving foreign interests, yet it comes out and constructs an entire narrative in this letter claiming that some threat comes from foreign countries. The foreign countries it refers to—the U.S. and European nations—are labeled as foreign forces, while ‘Georgian Dream’ itself is an ally of our main enemy, Russia. Why do they forget that they are the ones serving Russia’s interests?” Sharashidze stated.
On the same topic, Sharashidze noted that 13 years ago, there was progress in the fight against authoritarianism, but what “Georgian Dream” has done in the last four years has no connection to democracy.
“There’s a phrase in the letter stating that authoritarianism was defeated 12 years ago. Authoritarianism was indeed defeated, but what kind of regime do we have today? Today, authoritarianism takes forms that this country has never seen. In this regard, we are not in a better situation today. Do we have any progress in terms of democratic development? There was progress; we started taking significant steps, but what ‘Georgian Dream’ has done in the last four years has no connection to democracy. When they talk about sovereignty, they mean the sovereignty of their own team and party, ensuring no one interferes with the thousands of crimes they commit,” Sharashidze stated.
Additionally, Sharashidze addressed the part of the letter where Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks of “treacherous betrayal” by former teammates, noting that “it is not surprising that he likely means Giorgi Gakharia.”
“We remember statements where he directly named him. I don’t know, I can’t say who else he might be referring to besides Gakharia, but he has repeatedly spoken absurdly about Giorgi Gakharia, claiming he betrayed the country. Gakharia did not betray the country; he betrayed the corruption, crimes, the shift in our country’s geopolitical strategy, and the misfortune that ‘Georgian Dream’ was heading toward. If we talk about these 13 years, Giorgi Gakharia’s resignation was the boldest step anyone in ‘Georgian Dream’ has ever taken,” Sharashidze noted.
Regarding the part of the letter where Bidzina Ivanishvili focuses on October 4, Sharashidze stated that the responsibility lies with those opposition parties that, at the very least, play the role of “useful idiots” by giving Ivanishvili the opportunity to make such statements.
“For our political force, peace is an important value. The threat that Ivanishvili talks about—I don’t see it as a real threat as much as I see it as an opportunity for Ivanishvili and ‘Georgian Dream’ to use the fear of potential unrest, coups, and civil confrontation to further consolidate their electorate. This is precisely why the responsibility lies with those opposition parties that, I don’t want to think deliberately, but at the very least, play the role of useful idiots by giving Ivanishvili the opportunity to make such statements. No matter how strong the protest against the ‘Georgian Dream’ regime is today, when it comes to choosing whether change should happen peacefully or violently, the majority of our country prefers peaceful change,” Sharashidze stated.
According to him, since the October 4 rally has taken on a violent, unclear, and unserious tone, their team cannot and will not be part of it.
“Our citizens will decide for themselves whether to attend the rally. After this rally took on a violent, unclear, and unserious tone—first coinciding with October 4, then announcing the time, a national assembly, physical voting on Rustaveli for some issue, and on top of that, choosing a technical government on the same day, transferring power, and so on—these are such unserious promises, especially when they carry a violent undertone, because the term ‘peaceful overthrow’ does not exist. Naturally, after this, we cannot and will not be part of it. It’s also unclear to me who takes responsibility for all this. It seems like every political actor is involved, yet at the same time, no one is. They promise people that everything will end on October 4, but if it doesn’t, will they take responsibility? Or will they come out and list reasons—people didn’t show up, parties didn’t show up, it rained, and so on,” Sharashidze stated.
Giorgi Sharashidze: None of the ideals that united society 13 years ago under Georgian Dream remain – as for the October 4 rally, after it took on a violent and unserious tone, we cannot and will not be part of it
