Georgian Dream, Georgia | Spreading the fear of Putin in Georgia: – It is shameful

On October 26, Georgians will go to the polls both in Tbilisi and in other parts of the Eastern European country to vote for who will rule for the next four years: the pro-Russian or pro-Western parties.

The important election takes place after some big shows this spring, which arose in connection with the ones that were talked about a lot. the “foreign agent” law.. To the dismay of the activists, the law was finally voted down by the anti-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream.

The ocean she: Tense atmosphere in Georgia: – Putin’s troops are a few miles away

Georgian Dream has been in power for 12 years, and is still the best performing party in the polls in the country. At the same time, the party is gradually declining in popularity and becoming “more authoritarian”, writes the Georgian news website civil.ge.

– When I was a child I heard many stories about the West, says Irakli Kavtaradze to Nettavisen. Today, he is 50 years old and heads the foreign affairs department of the largest opposition party in Georgia, the United National Movement.

The propaganda room: – Located in Moscow

But the little optimism he heard about the West was completely drowned out by Soviet propaganda, which showed the USA and Europe as the great enemy.

– The same rhetoric is heard today, both from the Kremlin, but also from the Georgian government. All this propaganda is written in one room. And that room is in Moscow, says Kavtaradze to Nettavisen.

Russia was recently accused of rigging polls in Georgia related to the upcoming election. That prompted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to accuse the West of election interference in Georgia:

– We see obvious attempts by Western countries to put pressure on the current authorities, Peskov said on Tuesday this week.

In addition, Peskov said that polls were not interested in Georgia.

“We are not trying to interfere in Georgia’s affairs in any way and we have no intention of doing so,” he said. These claims come despite Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, and still is military bases in occupied parts of Georgiajust a few miles from Tbilisi.

Welfare and the road to Europe

– If we don’t get a new government, Georgia’s relationship with the West will not continue to decline, says Kavtaradze to Nettavisen.

– Our current government is trying to get Georgia back into the circle of Russia, which is why we are also hearing Lavrov (Russian foreign minister, note of editorial) bragging about the Georgian government. On the other hand, the election campaign for us in the opposition is about welfare and the road to Europe. The alternative is isolation and poverty. That is what we are trying to explain to the people, says Kavtaradze.

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Nettavisen was mentioned recently some of the election posters that stand out the capital of Tbilisi. The election posters of the ruling Georgian Dream party show images of destroyed Ukrainian towns and villages, juxtaposed with images of a peaceful Georgia, with the text “You should not war! Choose peace.”

– The election posters repeat what the authorities said: If the opposition comes to power, there will be war again. The message can be read as a threat; if you don’t let us win the election, Russia is going to attack again, said senior adviser Aage Borchgrevink of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee An online newspaper.

Can Putin intervene?

Kavtaradze is not gracious in his opinion, when asked what he thought about this type of election campaign.

– It’s a pity. To say that bombs will fall on our heads if we end up in government … that is completely immoral. It’s not about politics. It is propaganda in the familiar Kremlin style, says an opposition politician, who says that this type of propaganda works unfortunately.

– Because people are afraid of war. The wounds from the war in 2008 are still there. But the claim that Russia will attack again if we end up in government is a complete lie, says Kavtaradze.

In September, Nettavisen asked lieutenant colonel Palle Ydstebø if Russia could send forces into Georgia whose “wrong” government – in the eyes of the Russians – was elected on October 26. Then the lieutenant colonel replied that Russian forces were attached to Ukraine, and that they had nothing in the world to come at the moment.

Read also: Russia’s hidden war: – We have five months left

The laws that lead Georgia away from Europe

80 percent of the Georgian people want to join the EU, but several of the laws introduced by the Georgian Dream in the past year, including the Representatives Act and a law that restricts LGBT rights, directly against EU values. The head of EU foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, is among those who have it again to warn Georgia that these laws will take them further away from the membership of the Union.

– Why does the ruling party introduce laws that push Georgia further away from Europe?

– Georgia has had good and effective civil society organizations, Kavtaradze answers, and continues:

– They will be watchdogs for democracy, to make sure that the government follows the democratic rules of the game. The fact that there were critical voices against the government did not please the current politicians, so they decided to label these groups as “foreign agents” and spies. The same thing has happened before in Russia, says an opposition politician to Nettavisen.

Opinions will differ

Polls on who can walk away with the victory in the Georgia election will vary widely. A poll conducted at the end of September for the opposition-friendly Formula TV shows that a coalition of opposition parties would have ended up with around 55 percent of the vote, while Georgisk Drøm had to make up with 33 percent. Meanwhile, a survey conducted for the pro-government TV channel Imedi – around the same time – showed that Georgisk Drøm would have received 59.5 percent of the vote, while the opposition parties would not have gathered but 23.9, much because of a five percent barrier limit. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle – so Georgia is heading for a pretty fair election.

– Do you feel that you are moving towards a fair election?

– No, of course not, answered Kavtaradze.

He refers, among other things, to the fact that the government adopted amendments to the Electoral Act on February 20, which changed, among other things, the procedure for electing a chairman the board and members of Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Central Election Commissionto protests from both the opposition and civil society groups.

– There are no free or fair elections while the main opposition figure, former President Mikheil Saakashvili, remains in prison on political charges. In addition, you have the scare tactics, Russian-style disinformation and propaganda, numerous cases of violence, threats and vote-buying, as well as attempts at various manipulations by the election administration. All this has already destroyed the election environment. So the election is already fixed, but what the government can do against the will of the Georgian people is limited. We accept this challenge, and we are ready for battle, says Kavtaradze.