We, the signatory organizations, are alarmed by the deliberate anti-Western campaign of "Georgian Dream"(GD), whose target, inter alia, was the American ambassador in Georgia, Kelly Degnan. We believe this campaign aims to damage Georgia's relations with members of the European Union and NATO and to impede the advancement of Georgia's western perspective.
Since February 2022, the Russian Federation attacks Ukraine, the "Georgian dream" leaders have pursued a foreign policy that contradicts the majority opinion. Every time the GD leadership discussed Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, they blamed Ukraine for not doing enough to prevent the conflict. Meanwhile, GD leaders continued to feed the public with skeptical views about pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian measures, including sanctions, taken by European states and the United States.
Because of the international political context, the Georgian authorities felt obliged to submit Georgia's application for membership of the European Union as a formality. But they have also sped up their aggressive, mass campaign against the West.
The authorities formed and spread the conspiracy theory, as if the West is asking Georgia to join the war against Russia but that the Georgian authorities, and Bidzina Ivanishvili personally, are resisting this pressure, and thus shielding the Georgian people from Russian military aggression. The deliberate propaganda had dual fold purposes: one the one hand, to confuse the society, to make light of the fact that Georgia was not awarded the EU membership candidacy, and on the other and to evaporate public frustration by instead, instilling the fear of war and on the other, to devalue the de-oligarchization demand put forward by the EU, they tried to justify Ivanishvili's oligarchic rule and to present him as the guarantor of peace in Georgia.
This propaganda, which in fact is nothing more than a translated version of Russian propaganda about world conspiracies, initially failed to impact large segment of Georgian society. This is evidenced by the polls that show great support for the European Union and mass demonstrations held in recent months. However, the authorities are speeding through their anti-Western rhetoric and policies, a clear sign for us that the government will not act in favor of the democratization of Georgia. Under the oligarch’s thumb, Georgia will further distance itself from Western values, from the idea of democratic governance and the prospect of joining the European Union.
Oligarchy and the authoritarian tendencies of the Georgian government are incompatible with the aspirations of the Georgian people written in our Constitution - to live in a democratic republic and become a member of the European Union and NATO. An aim always actively supported by the United States of America. For 3 decades, the United States have been a selfless supporter of Georgia's democratic development. This unsubstantiated, targeted attacks on Ambassador Degnan is a continuation of this ant-Western policy and aims to demonize Georgia’s main ally in the eyes of the Georgian public, to weaken the US efforts to keep supporting Georgian people’s efforts to achieve democracy, to damage the relations of the Georgian state with the European Union and NATO, and to hinder its Western development perspective.
Signatories:
Democracy Defenders
Transparency International Georgia
Racha Community Organization
Guria’s Civic Movement–For Freedom
Fifth Element, CSO
Femina
Students For European Future
Public Movement–Chiatura of the Future
Initiative Group–Ar Gadado
ჟიუტიGeut
Campaign–We Stand for U
Kobuleti Civic Society
Samira Bayramova, Activist
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