Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili Criticizes Western Influence, Signals Political Actions Post-Election
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
In front of the parliament building in Tbilisi, the "General People's Gathering" organized by the ruling party culminated with a speech from the honorary chairperson of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili. The ruling party mobilized citizens nationwide to rally in support of the "Foreign Agents" Law.
Ivanishvili said the "Global War Party" pushed the European Parliament to vote for a "non-European" resolution. He said this had two aims: interfering in Georgia's affairs and showing the European Parliament is under their control.
"Everyone has seen the resolution adopted by the European Parliament a few days ago, where European politicians once again supported the criminal leaders of the United National Movement. In this case too, the 'Global War Party' forced the European Parliament to support a completely non-European resolution.
All of this had two goals: on one hand, to rudely intervene in Georgia's affairs once again; on the other hand, to demonstrate once more that the European Parliament has become one of their tools, which they can use as they wish at any time.
With the approval of this entirely non-European resolution, it was once again shown how much influence the 'Global War Party' has on the European Union.
The 'Global War Party' is destroying European values in the EU with its own hands, which is generally its usual signature. Exactly the same way they destroyed Georgia from 2004 to 2012 by the hands of Georgians who were in power then," Ivanishvili said.
He suggested that Georgia has reached the point where it has the necessary resources to assert its sovereignty more effectively. Ivanishvili believes that the "Transparency of Foreign Influence" law plays a crucial role in protecting Georgia's sovereignty by ensuring transparency regarding any foreign influence within the country.
"The fate of Georgia should be decided by the Georgian people. Over the years, we have accumulated enough resources to begin fully consolidating our sovereignty. This is the purpose served by the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence." After the elections, we will have the opportunity to deliver a firm political and legal judgment to the collective National Movement," he said.
Ivanishvili explained that there were "two main objective reasons" for withdrawing the law last year:
Firstly, according to him, they must have considered the concerns of deceived fellow citizens; Secondly, they must have ensured the political stability of the country, which could have faced challenges last year if the law had not been withdrawn.
Ivanishvili stated that after the elections, the United National Movement will be held strictly accountable for all the crimes it has committed against the Georgian state and the Georgian people over the course of two decades.
Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream, said that the primary reason for the aggression of the "Global War Party" towards Georgia is its failure to turn Georgia into a "second front", despite significant efforts.
He claimed that this could have been easily achieved had the "agents" returned to power. Ivanishvili highlighted that despite the promise made at the Bucharest summit in 2008, Georgia and Ukraine were not included in NATO and were instead caught in a two-edged conflict.
He attributed such decisions to the "Global War Party", which according to him, has decisive influence over NATO and the European Union. According to Ivanishvili, both Georgia and Ukraine are seen as "cannon fodder" by this "party".
