Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Coalition for Change, criticized ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party founder and Honorary Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili’s recent statement on the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, calling it an attempt to distort history and aid the enemy.
“Bidzina Ivanishvili attempted to disgrace our country. His statement was an act of aiding the enemy and an effort to falsify history. His claim that we started the war and shed the blood of our own brothers, as he put it, was a lie intended to humiliate us and further subjugate our nation to the threats that the GD uses as its only political tool,” Gvaramia said.
He further emphasized that using fear, historical tragedies, and falsehoods against one’s own people as political strategies is unacceptable. Gvaramia accused Ivanishvili of prioritizing electoral victory over the nation’s well-being, adding, “When you manipulate the tragic events of your country’s history and disregard the dignity of your people, you are unfit to lead the nation.”
Gvaramia declared that the Coalition for Change rejects any effort to undermine Georgia’s dignity or falsify its past.
“Bidzina Ivanishvili is dragging us toward Russia and toward our past tragedies. But we are not a nation of tragedy. We are a nation of victory and success, and we will achieve our happiness,” the opposition member said.
He concluded by rejecting any attempts to portray Georgians as a defeated, violent, or unsuccessful country.
On Saturday Ivanishvili delivered a speech in Gori, Shida Kartli region,
where he called for an apology to Ossetians for the events of 2008, stating, “We must find the strength within ourselves to apologize for the betrayal of the United National government which in 2008 engulfed our Ossetian brothers and sisters in flames.”
