In a rare television appearance, Bidzina Anikashvili spoke with journalist Magda Anikashvili. She asked the interviewee a series of convenient questions, with a subtext, and repeated his answers. The nearly 1.5-hour pre-recorded, pro-government Imedi TV interview was aired just five days before elections. It is seen as a bid by the GD honorary chair to speak directly to ruling party voters and mobilize them.
Ivanishvili began by assessing the atmosphere before the elections. “I can stress that this is a unique environment. He said that he would not describe the atmosphere as tense, citing an OSCE/ODIHR report, which he called “quite positive.”
Ivanishvili went on to say that the statements from the West were blackmail, and accused the Global War Party for coordinating them. He claimed that “it (these statements) did not work”, because society was irritated. He said the same thing about the U.S. Sanctions: “It was counter-effect because it was blackmail, based on nonobjective information.”
He accused the bureaucrats and authorities representing Georgia’s international allies (whom he didn’t name) of trying create a “regretful” reality. He claimed that these people were coordinating with the Georgian Opposition.
He added that “the second day [of election] isn’t decisive; every […] day until the war isn’t over […], will be very tense,” and “We must be cautious” pointing out the difficult geopolitical environment around the country.
Ivanishvili criticized liberal and “pseudoliberal” ideologies several times during the interview. He said that their aim was to mislead and convince people in “virtual realities” and “stifle different opinion”. Ivanishvili added: “These statements we hear come from the context: As if Georgia is autoritarian, As if there is an democratic backsliding, As if Georgia drifts from Europe.” He claimed that “now there is a true democracy in Georgia”, which he said is something even Europe lacks. He said that they would not be able create a virtual world in Georgia and assured everyone of the fact that nothing unusual will happen on election day.
Georgian risks
Ivanishvili, recalling the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, blamed NATO’s “real managers” who are not member states for denying Georgian and Ukrainian membership to the Alliance. This did not happen because one or two countries opposed Georgia’s bid. According to Ivanishvili, this was because “they knew” and “planned” the “opening up of the second front”.
Ivanishvili then went on to discuss war in Ukraine, stating that NATO is not directly involved and only provides money and weapons in the war against Russia. He said that the plan to drag Georgia into war had been planned since 2008, and that this was why Georgia was not accepted by NATO. “Mikheil] Saakashvili gave a good practice and dragged Georgia into the first conflict in 2008,” he added. “Then, they wanted to open a second front in Georgia (against Russia) in the war of Ukraine.”
Ivanishvili linked the resignation of the former PM Giorgi Gakharia with the “second front” narrative. He noted that the resignation coincided the start of the conflict in Ukraine and that it was done “to tear down the Georgian Dream Government and let those forces that would immediately drag Georgia to war come to power.”
Ivanishvili reminded the public that the Middle East is also near Georgia. “We must be careful not to make a mistake, or we could end up in an irreversible catastrophe,” he said.
“De Facto” Sanctions
Commenting on U.S. Ivanishvili refuted Ambassador Dunnigan’s statement that Ivanishvili prioritized his financial interests above those of the State. He then went on to describe his view as to why and how he was “de facto sanctioned”.
He claimed that his foreign assets, including helicopters and works of art, were frozen two weeks after the war in Ukraine. He said he could not get them from Germany for months. He said that whatever he “saved” from the robbery, he transferred to a Swiss bank. He then went into detail about his money troubles with the Swiss bank Credit Swiss. He described the legal process, and complained that he had not been able to access his money for over a year and half. He said that his long legal battles, and the restricted access to his funds, coincided with criticisms of him from the West.
He claimed that he refused to meet the U.S. because of “personal complexes” and that it would be “counterproductive to meet the U.S.” While his access to funding is restricted, he cannot be an ambassador or make political decisions. He repeatedly mentioned “the complex”, saying: “I wasn’t against the meeting in general.” [However] if I had a complex, I would be unable to make any productive decisions because I would feel that I was doing this for money that was artificially blocked. If the artificial sanctions are lifted, I would be relieved from this complex.” He continued: “I have an issue that I make decisions so that they return my money and not to benefit my country.”
Resetting Relations
Ivanishvili responded that the war was the root cause of all problems, when asked about a possible reset in Georgia’s relationship with its partners. The war, Ivanishvili said, “intensified and in some cases, turned them upside-down.” He said: “I am hoping that the war will be over by this year, and this will take care the of relations with our partners.”
Ivanishvili said that he will meet with the U.S. Ambassador after the elections, “now that the problem has gone away”, referring to his financial problems. After the elections, he informed Amb. Dunnigan. He said that the Ambassador’s reaction was “very healthy”, and he hopes to have a meeting with her after the election. He expressed his hope that relations will return to normality after the end of the war in Ukraine. He said that the U.S. is also holding elections soon, and that “America has always been a priority for our country.” He also noted that Georgia will need “reciprocal actions” from the U.S. for the reset to occur.
GD’s Plans – Banning the Opposition
Ivanishvili, when asked why the UNM was banned only now, 12 years after GD took power, said that the reason for the delay was the ongoing Hague trial and “lack” of resources.
He also said that during the first years GD was in power there were expectations for co-habitation and that no one would be arrested or prosecuted. Ivanishvili said that GD at the time was “eclectic”, and that this was a barrier to taking a more harsh stance against the UNM.
Ivanishvili said that the Georgian Dream Team has become “more experienced” since then and “more aggressive in a positive way” towards the opposition. This is a result, he added, of the processes surrounding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
He claimed that a high official of a country, which he did not mention, suggested to former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili that he go to war with Russia. Ivanishvili claims that an official told Garibashvili, the former PM, “You are three or four million people, in just three days they wouldn’t kill you all.” You can go to the forest with a partisan movement and we will help you.
He said that the “collective UNM acts “slavishly”, to the forces who are preparing Georgia for a war. He called out Lelo and the Gakharia’s For Georgia group, who, he said, “are very aware of UNM’s objectives”. This is why they are “particularly dangerous”.
“The [GD] Team is committed.” We are not attacking anyone. We want to preserve this country for our children and ourselves.
Ivanishvili responded when asked why others see this plan as the GD’s antidemocratic intent to ban the entire opposition. He said there are many instances of this happening in the world.
“The [simple] winning of elections is not going be decisive. That is why I say we need a constitution majority to ban them and to get rid of them,” said he, threatening viewers the dangerous consequences if the UNM had even the slightest grain of power.
He said GD is a “patriotic”, “transparent” organization. He said: “If something or someone positive happens, he/she becomes a member quickly of GD… There will not be another force like this from outside GD because everyone who loves the country and is positive will find a home with us.” There is another force which gets enormous energy from the outside to run the country in accordance with the wishes of the outside.
He added, “Once the force is removed, GD will have many opponents.” I’m looking forward to that day. It will be my happiest moment. We must give the people a choice between good and better. This is not an election… the evil forces are coming, their energy never stops, because a large force supports them from outside. He said that GD needed the constitutional majority and the legitimacy to get rid the opponents, and that GD planned to hold another Nuremberg Trial for them.
LGBT Propaganda
Ivanishvili has once again criticized the opposition for boycotting the parliamentary debate on the anti-LGBT legislation, which is presented by the GD as a way to protect family values and minors.
Ivanishvili credited the LGBT community for the passage of the anti-discrimination laws and praised them, saying that they were “normal people”, but added that LGBT “propaganda”, is not acceptable. He blamed the growth of the LGBT community on propaganda.
Ivanishvili stated that “orgies on the streets”, which might sound normal to some, begins with granting sexual minority groups the right to go out. He then lamented the fact that “a woman isn’t called a woman in the West and a male isn’t called a male.”
He said that the idea behind LGBT propaganda was that “a person shouldn’t know who they are, a man or woman”, stressing this is the latest weapon of enslavement. It is a “virtual world” and “the foundation for liberal ideology.”
He also condemned gender reassignment surgeries and expressed many other homophobic narratives about the LGBT community.
Apology for War
Ivanishvili defended his earlier apology for the 2008 war that sparked controversy in the society by saying the opposition was outraged because it tried “to cover up their misdeeds”. He said that “apology” is needed for reconciliation and that the opposition was misrepresenting his words to make it seem like Ivanishvili was trying to apologize to Russia. He also accused them of following orders from outside, and said they did not want reconciliation or the restoration of territorial integrity.
Opposition Election Campaign and Aftermath
Ivanishvili claimed that the opposition was “miserable” and that its representatives could not “even approach people”, recalling the fact that the opposition had not addressed demonstrators on the stage at the rally of October 20. He said that the opposition had no electoral program, and was only busy criticizing and GD-bashing.
Ivanishvili criticized opposition for framing election as a choice of their European path or the GD’s Russian path. He accused the opposition for forgetting their homeland in favor of focusing on other things. Ivanishvili said, “They don’t care about the country. They are people without a home.”
Civil Society
“I didn’t understand the meaning of stigmatization until Kobakhidze explained to me what it meant,” said Ivanishvili in response to the Russian-style Foreign Agents Law, which the civil societies has claimed stigmatizes them.
Ivanishvili questioned CSOs’ goals, saying that they should be proud of their work and not resist transparency if they do great work for the nation. He criticised the youth who called the law a “Russian law”, saying that it was the fault of the pseudo-liberal ideology, which doesn’t teach youth analytical thinking.
He also claimed that Georgian legislation is not based upon Russian law, but rather on that of the European Union.
Elections on October 26
“In 2012 I had been more active […], but I think today [election] will be more important,” Ivanishvili stated at the end of an hour-and-a half interview. He added that he too was younger and recalled sentimentally his first rally before October 2012, where he forced UNM from office.
He said that “we no longer have the time to walk on the razor’s edge”, insisting on the necessity to outlaw UNM.
He concluded by urging citizens to rush to their polling stations and vote for 41, The Georgian Dream. He promised that in the future, they would have a “real opposition” to choose between “good”, and “better”, something he said Georgians do not currently have.
The Daily Beat: Monday, 9 October
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