Georgian PM highlights “power of faith, family traditions, eternal and universal values” in CPAC speech
Garibashvili stressed that “traditional, Christian, conservative, family values” were “our main weapon and foundation” in such difficult times. Photo: Government Administration
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday highlighted the “power of faith, family traditions, eternal and universal values” in his keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary’s capital city of Budapest.
In his address at the event hosted by the American Conservative Union, Garibashvili called for making countries of the involved representatives “homes of peace, stability and prosperity during these difficult times”.
[Hungary’s] Prime Minister Orban joked in his speech in Dallas that Hungary was not really a superpower. Georgia, an even smaller country, has never had such ambitions. And, yet we possess the superpower - this power is our faith, our family traditions, our eternal and universal values”, Garibashvili said.
“It is by uniting that we will be able to resist the evil that comes in the name of false freedom and false truth, and to protect and preserve the world for our children and future generations with true, traditional, family values”, the Government head continued.
Garibashvili stressed that “traditional, Christian, conservative, family values” were “our main weapon and foundation” in such difficult times.
“Undoubtedly, adherence to traditions does not mean that we stand against innovation. Although we must be careful, as we know that evil often comes exactly in the name of innovation. This proved to be true in many cases throughout history, including in the case of fascism”, he told the event.
Our Patriarch [of the Georgian Orthodox Church] once stated that ‘freedom is fought in the name of false freedom’, which is true. No one fights against freedom in the name of slavery, but rather the false freedom. And, no one opposes the truth in the name of fiction, but in the name of false truth”, he noted.
Garibashvili claimed the forces that opposed “freedom and truth” were trying to achieve their goals by “destroying traditional family values and coercing false freedoms”, citing “LGBTQ+ propaganda and attempts to legislate gender-affirming procedures for children” as examples of these efforts.
WATCH: #CPACHungary crowd ERUPTS as Georgia’s Prime Minister @GharibashviliGe calls out the left’s destruction of the truth. pic.twitter.com/R8V7e2hsaI
— CPAC (@CPAC) May 4, 2023
“They do so because it is easy to control a rootless person - someone who has forgotten their history and faith. Therefore, in such difficult times, our main weapon and foundation is traditional, Christian, conservative, family values”, Garibashvili added.
Photo via Government Administration
The Government head also stressed tolerance was a “unique” tradition of the Georgian people.
“In the historic old Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, there is an Orthodox church, an Armenian church, a Catholic church, a mosque and a synagogue next to each other, which shows the historical tolerance in our country”, he said in his address.
It must be noted that Jews who lived in Georgia before Christianity were never persecuted. [...] Hence, tolerance is our unique tradition. And the threat is not religion, minorities, or different opinion, but rather those who are without faith or values, armed with cynicism, often in the name of religion, democracy, and freedom [while] actually opposing freedom and truth”, Garibashvili noted.
Garibashvili added that “traditional, supreme, eternal, universal values” were the source of the strength to be united.
“These values can be easily expressed as follows: faith, freedom, peace, dignity, truth, equality, purity of the family, respect for parents, ancestors and traditions, love of the homeland and of people, and hope for a better future”, he said.
“Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, the wise and most respected person in our country, has summarised all of the aforementioned in the following postulates: God, Homeland, and Human Being”, he concluded.