UNM leader accuses Gov’t of attempting to dismantle ‘pro-western movement’

A senior figure in Georgia’s opposition party, Unity – National Movement, has accused the ruling government of a “continued campaign” to dismantle the movement and “undermine its pro-Western ideals”.

Giorgi Baramidze, the political secretary of the party, claimed that former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and the ruling party honorary chair “has made it his mission to destroy the National Movement since coming to power”.

“It is not surprising that the criminal regime interferes in the affairs of our party,” Baramidze said in a public statement. “Ivanishvili did not come to serve the Georgian people, but to destroy the National Movement.”

He argued that despite years of political pressure and what he called interference by pro-Russian forces, the movement endured because it represents “an idea” of a unified, democratic Georgia that “seeks integration with NATO and the European Union”.

Baramidze also invoked the legacy of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the movement’s founder, describing him as the “architect of a European, educated, and progressive” vision for the country.

“This idea cannot be destroyed by Russia, nor by its fifth column in the form of the Georgian Dream,” he added, referencing the ruling party, which critics accuse of maintaining ties with Moscow – a claim the party has consistently denied.