Georgia under Western pressure

by Leyla Tariverdiya, Day.az

The honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, made a fuss with his latest interview with Imedi TV company. A lot of things were said that Georgians had never heard before. And they wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been for the outright pressure from the West on the country ahead of the parliamentary elections and attempts to manipulate the interests of the Georgian people.

Ivanishvili told how Georgia was being pushed to war with Russia. Former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was offered to take a similar step, assuming that the war would last three or four days. To the "misunderstanding" on the part of the prime minister whether these three or four days are worth the destruction of the country, the Western partners cynically replied that "there are three or four million of you. They won't kill everyone in three or four days. Then you can start a guerrilla movement in the woods. We will help you, you will fight from there."…

It is doubtful that this was invented in connection with the recent events around Georgia. And, again, the Georgian people would never have known about this if the West had not gone so far in its pressure on Tbilisi.

Georgia has been looking to the West for almost all the years of its independence. Even under the current authorities, which are considered to be "pro-Russian", she did not think about which vector to choose. But the country has its own interests, its own principles, and unlike some other post-Soviet states, which are ready to do anything for the sake of the West's favor, Georgia has shown independence in decision-making. And this disobedience caused a surge of negativity in Western circles.

It has already been stated that the European Union has suspended the process of Georgia's accession to the bloc. In a statement, the European Council said that the EU "expresses serious concern about recent events in Georgia," in particular, due to the adoption of the law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which "represents a departure from the steps outlined in the Commission's recommendation on granting candidate status." No arguments that such laws were adopted in the "cradle of democracy" of the United States and in the European Union itself did not work: they can, Georgia cannot. Unprecedented measures were taken to force the Georgian government to abandon its intentions, but the law was passed anyway. The pressure on Tbilisi intensified even more after the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, signed the law "On Family Values and Protection of Minors" in October. The adopted law prohibits same-sex marriage, adoption of children by same-sex couples and transgender transition. Both projects were submitted to the Parliament by the Georgian Dream.

The law on foreign agents to the Georgian Dream could somehow be forgiven, but the harassment of transgender people - never.

Today, a whirlpool has formed around Georgia. According to a scenario that has been repeatedly tested in Azerbaijan, the West has taken on Tbilisi, using all its propaganda tools and outright threats. Parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia on October 26. It is worth expecting that the most serious propaganda flurry awaits the current government after them.

On Sunday, October 20, an opposition march called "Georgia chooses the European Union" took place in Tbilisi. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was among the participants. The opposition planned to demonstrate with a mass action that the Georgian people say "no" to the current government and are mostly in favor of European integration. In principle, Georgian citizens have the opportunity to demonstrate the European choice without slogans and shouts this Saturday, but the opposition considered it necessary to take preventive measures, show their unity and strength to everyone. However, the very next day, not very encouraging details began to emerge. It was expected that up to 300 thousand citizens would take part in the march and at the rally on Freedom Square, but in the end only a few tens of thousands came to the rally.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, executive secretary of the Georgian Dream, told reporters that the Georgian opposition lost the elections a week before the vote. According to him, people were brought from all over the country to the rally. "No one has done anything like this before," Mdinaradze wrote on social media.

It should be noted that the elections will be held according to the proportional system and the mandates will be distributed among the parties that have overcome the five percent barrier. The Coalition for Change, the National Movement (its founder is former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who is currently in prison), the Strong Georgia coalition, the For Georgia Party (founder is former Prime Minister and former associate of Bidzina Ivanishvili Giorgi Gakharia), the ruling Georgian a dream."

The topic of Georgia became one of the main topics at the recent two-day EU summit. "The European Council is discussing a number of foreign policy issues, including the situation in Moldova and Georgia. Both countries are facing a decisive moment on their European path," European Council President Charles Michel said in a letter to EU leaders on the eve of the summit.

As for Moldova, it has already experienced its "decisive moment". The European choice in the referendum held on October 20 won by a narrow margin - 55 against 45 percent of the vote. Although Moldovans said "yes" to the European Union, in fact, half of the country's population opposed European integration, and this is a serious reason for the EU to think. Western propaganda declared the results of the referendum to be the result of "disinformation." However, it's time to accept reality - the "Western choice" has ceased to be a carrot on a string. Everything ends someday, and so do illusions. It's not because countries are changing Western choices to Russian ones. It's just that the example of Ukraine has freed many from illusions. Even the most loyal followers of the Western choice. Georgia has been waiting for the favor of the European Union for the longest time - more than fifteen years. And it was only in December of last year, the most recent, that she finally received the status of a candidate, although she tried her best to match all the years. If Western support had been so reliable, the country would have been admitted to the EU even before the 2008 war, but Georgia is not needed in the "European family", just as Ukraine is not needed.

It can be said with all certainty that the countries of the Eastern Partnership will not become members of the European Union. The EAP was not created for this, but to keep these states on a short leash and away from Russia. Moreover, they cannot wait for membership now, when they (with the exception of Azerbaijan) can be turned into a real springboard of confrontation between the West and Russia. Ukraine has already been sacrificed, the same fate was prepared for Georgia, but it jumped off the hook, and if the current government retains power, it will not be possible to push the country into the regional "ring".

By the way, Armenia is now running along this path with great enthusiasm and drooling with joy. The rally boys who run the country really believe that they will soon be accepted into the European Union and NATO, after which the heavens will open and grace will fall from there. Armenia is absolutely incapable of drawing conclusions, if not from its own, then at least from other people's mistakes. They feed her sweets, declare their love and at the same time lead her by the handle to the abyss, then gently push her.

Only a fool can believe that Armenia will join the EU. The European Union already has enough extra mouths, why does it need another one? Armenia is much more useful as bait and bait. And she herself is one of those who is not capable of independent politics and will regularly follow that carrot on a string, hoping that it will one day fall into her mouth.

A week before the elections, the EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky made another statement with a warning. "We will respect your choice, your future is in your hands, not in the hands of someone else, but please respect that the European Union is based on certain values. These are freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. These values are non-negotiable. If Georgian voters decide to turn Georgia into a one-party state, if they decide to ban all opposition parties, expel civil society from the country, if you allow Georgia to become a place where there will be no free media, if you decide that the rights of every person in Georgia will not be protected, then I want to tell you openly - Georgia will not become a member of the European Union not today, not tomorrow, and not in 2030," Gerchinsky said.

The EU ambassador contradicts himself. Arguing that the European Union will respect the choice of the Georgian people, he immediately declares that if the Georgian people choose something that the West does not like, the EU will not respect their choice. This is the whole philosophy of the "democratic world".

The most interesting thing is that Georgia is not actually going to change its course. She has been and remains on the same course. It is impossible that the West, with their ubiquitous special services, did not know about the real thoughts of official Tbilisi. The whole problem is that Georgia no longer wants to solve its internal issues by asking permission from Western partners. And then it turns out that the Western partners don't like it at all. They don't need such a Georgia.

We wish the Georgian people patience and sobriety. A serious choice awaits him on October 26.