Georgian PM says resentments of UNM party’s supporters aren’t directed solely at Russia, but rather inwardly towards themselves

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday addressed young people in the country with an open letter amid ongoing protests against the bill on transparency by saying that resentment of supporters of the UNM party were not directed solely at Russia, but rather inwardly towards themselves.

In his letter, Kobakhidze reviewed the social media posts of one “sincere” young man, who had not missed any opposition rally.

“Despite official approval from the Government of Georgia, this young man persisted in his request to send fighting volunteers to Ukraine. He remained resolute even in the face of discouragement from Biden and Johnson, who cautioned against volunteers joining the conflict to prevent NATO from becoming embroiled in a war with Russia. Furthermore, he expressed openness to war and shared Gigauri's statement, advocating that Russia's struggles in Ukraine presented an opportunity that must be seized. This young man, who typically feels obligated to harbour resentment towards all things Russian, surprisingly displayed no anger when David Arakhamia, another "world hero," addressed the crowd in Russian at the rally on Rustaveli Avenue. This observation suggests that his resentment isn't directed solely at Russia, but rather inwardly towards himself. This sentiment is echoed by individuals like Nikoloz so-called Rachveli, Nino Katamadze, and other prominent UNM supporters who continue to hold concerts in Russia until 2019. These UNM supporters have convinced themselves that Russia's status as an occupier of Georgian territories occurred not after the occupation of Georgian lands, but rather after the occupation of Ukrainian territories. This selective irritation with Russia demonstrates the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of the UNM mindset”, Kobakhidze said.

“Our sincere young man was utterly perplexed when “world hero” Zelensky recalled the ambassador from Georgia on March 1st 2022, citing reasons such as the failure to impose sanctions and send fighters. His response to this demarche was, "I am ashamed to be Georgian." Surprisingly, there was no inquiry into why Zelensky chose to recall the ambassador from Georgia, especially considering that he hadn't recalled the ambassador from Belarus for over a year since the start of the war. Furthermore, there was no consideration given to whether these actions were linked to Podolyak and Danilov's direct calls to open a second front in Georgia. It's worth noting the absence of any protest from Podolyak and Danilov regarding these statements”, he continued.

Kobakhidze also noted that “the analytical aspirations of the sincere young man reached their zenith when the issue of Georgia's EU candidate status came to the forefront”.

“We disseminated extensive information to the public, highlighting how adversaries of Georgia and those advocating for a second frontline were exploiting the candidate status issue for blackmail. He shared insights about the meeting in Bakuriani, where the collective National Movement - comprising political parties, NGOs and TV stations - convened to strategize on orchestrating a revolution for the anticipated scenario of not being granted candidate status in June”, Kobakhidze noted.

“Our sincere young man was among the first to attend the rally when Georgia was not granted candidate status. He squarely placed the blame on the authorities without questioning why Georgia was overlooked while Moldova, a member of the CIS that abstained from imposing sanctions on Russia and struggled with corruption and weak state institutions, received the status. He didn't raise any queries even when the European Commission released its evaluation with detailed points a few months later, revealing that Georgia outperformed candidate Moldova and candidate Bosnia by a significant margin.
The honest young man proceeded to share statements from UNM politicians, NGOs and journalists claiming that Georgia lost out on 14 billion euros by not receiving candidate status and missed an opportunity for instant wealth. However, over the course of a year and a half, he didn't exhibit any anger when these same individuals later conveyed that candidate status didn't actually yield any financial or economic benefits”, he continued.

The Government head further added that this young man shared numerous statements from UNM affiliates of varying stripes asserting that Georgia would never attain candidate status under the current Government.

“In the interim, this honest young man shared numerous statements from UNM affiliates of varying stripes asserting that Georgia would never attain candidate status under the current government. Surprisingly, even after the country did indeed receive candidate status under the Georgian Dream Administration, these posts remain undeleted. Furthermore, in December of last year, he didn't attend the rally where the Government and EU ambassadors jointly celebrated the attainment of candidate status.In a nutshell, despite numerous missteps, our earnest young man continues to stand firm at rallies today. He hasn't familiarised himself with Georgian law, let alone the Russian one, yet he mistakenly believes that Georgian draft is akin to Russian law”, Kobakhidze concluded.