Irakli Kobakhidze Accuses Opposition of Organizing "Liberal Fascist Campaign"
At the press conference on March 14, chairman of the ruling “Georgian Dream” coalition, Irakli Kobakhidze, stressed that the draft law on foreign agents has more consequences than it would have had in case of its adoption. He said that now everyone sees clearly that those organizations that demanded the resignation of the government, tried to tarnish the reputation of the Church, carried out LGBT propaganda, and undermined the country's energy security - all these organizations are, in fact, not the people's organizations, but foreign influence agents.
He continued by saying that a revolution had already occurred in 2003 via the NGOs, which had resulted in the loss of 20% of Georgian land, torture, corporate racketeering, and backsliding of democratic principles throughout the nation. He claimed that extreme political youth groups had been made public at the rallies last week. In this regard, he declared the "Franklin Club," "sponsored by the US organization Atlas Network," to be agents of foreign influence, along with the United National Movement (UNM), Girchi - More Freedom, "Shame" and "Droa" political organizations. Afterwards Kobakhidze took the opportunity to link the aforementioned political parties with a number of universities, including the Free University and the University of Georgia, as well as particular members of their administration.
Moreover, Kobakhidze condemned the opposition parties' youth organizations for the violence against the police, branding them radicals and accusing the protestors of initiating a campaign in the greatest tradition of liberal fascism. Kobakhidze claimed that in addition to the opposition parties, this fascist campaign also includes the former Ombudsman, critical media, NGO representatives, and universities.
"Last week, when special forces and protesters clashed, Europe was not on the side of the protesters; rather, it was on the side of the special forces," he stated. "We appreciate each and every police officer and member of the legal system once more. We also thank Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs, personally. Last week, the administration displayed its humanitarian side once again," the official added.
Kobakhidze emphasized that the legislation on foreign agents has nothing to do with Russian law and that such a regulation has been applied for many years in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. "The EU, the UK, and Canada are now debating whether to implement this law," he said. Kobakhidze said that the radical opposition had carried out their revolutionary preparations, Russian tanks were in Tbilisi, and the Georgian Dream was a guarantee that the second front would not break out in Tbilisi.