MPs, city council members launch public movement after leaving ruling party
Sozar Subari, an independent MP, said the goal of the movement would be to answer the questions, prevent the war and make Georgia's European integration “irreversible”. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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MPs and members of city councils who have left the ruling Georgian Dream party over the past month following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the team on Thursday declared the founding of a public movement.
Sozar Subari, an independent MP, said the goal of the movement would be to answer the questions, prevent the war and make Georgia's European integration “irreversible”.
[It] is necessary to bring what happens behind the scenes and what happens outside of the public policy to the judgement of the public, to tell the public more truth and to provide more information”, Subari said.
Guram Macharashvili, a member of the Parliamentary majority, on Thursday said he was leaving the ruling Georgian Dream party and would join three MPs who exited the team last month following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the faction.
Sozar Subari, Mikheil Kavelashvili and Dimitri Khundadze left the ranks of the ruling Georgian Dream party on June 28. They said they had decided to set aside party affiliation in a bid to inform the public about behind-the-scenes dealings of the domestic opposition that they claimed were aimed at causing “unrest and war” in the country.
Guram Macharashvili, a member of the Parliamentary majority, on Thursday said he was leaving the ruling Georgian Dream party and would join three MPs who exited the team last month following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the faction.
The 12 conditions outlined by the European Council for granting Georgia the European Union membership candidate status later this year are seen as part of the “revolutionary plan” of the “radical opposition” in the country, three MPs who left the ruling party last week to publicise “behind-the-scenes developments” of the domestic political field said in a statement on Monday.
Sozar Subari, Mikheil Kavelashvili and Dimitri Khundadze, the three MPs who left the ranks of the ruling Georgian Dream party this week, on Thursday said the decision of the European Council not to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status outright contributed to an “opposite effect” of the objective of depolarisation of its domestic political environment, a qualification included in the body’s requirements to the country.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday announced the departure of three MPs from both the party and the parliament following their disagreement over public relations strategy with the rest of the faction.
Popular Force, a newly launched public movement composed of the former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Thursday released a statement saying the actions of Kelly Degnan, the United states Ambassador to Georgia, “reinforce people's belief that the radical agenda of the radical [domestic] opposition is coordinated by the United States Embassy”.
Gia Volski, a ruling party MP and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said the United States was the “strongest and the most efficient supporter” of Georgia, but added on its part, it also did not have “as loyal a partner and friend as Georgia” in the South Caucasus region.
Popular Force, a recently launched public movement composed of former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Tuesday released a statement claiming “disrespectful and crass attitude” towards Georgian state institution in a United Sates Embassy document on the country’s judicial reform.
Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said the ruling Georgian Dream party could not follow the “tone and style” of the statements by the MPs who had left GD following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the faction and were criticising actions of the United States Embassy and Ambassador Kelly Degnan.
Five more MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Tuesday joined Popular Force, a public movement created by former ruling Georgian Dream party lawmakers who exited the team in June.
Georgia is a small country, we have a lot of challenges, some of the territories are occupied and we need “stronger” partners and allies, as well as “strong relations” with “everyone”, especially with our “main partners” - the United States and the European Union, the Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Tuesday.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Sunday told reporters “nobody” has been eavesdropping on government representatives and called the accusation that the state security service has been wiretapping the ruling Georgian Dream party’s members a “lie”.