Georgian PM says Gov’t must neutralise ‘collective’ UNM, pledges responsibility to 1.1m voters

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday said the ruling Georgian Dream party has a duty to rid the country of what he called the “collective United National Movement” - a term he used to describe opposition forces and, he alleged, foreign-backed actors - and vowed to act on behalf of more than 1.1 million voters who supported the Government.

Speaking at a briefing at Georgian Dream headquarters, Kobakhidze accused the opposition of repeatedly attempting to provoke unrest and said the state responded decisively to what he described as attempts to overthrow the Government.

“As you know, attempts to topple the Government have failed. Over the past four years we have seen what I called five attempts to organise ‘Natsmaidan’ - efforts to bring chaos into the country - and yesterday the state gave an appropriate response,” he said.

Kobakhidze said the leadership has a responsibility to “completely neutralise this political force, the collective UNM, and foreign agents,” arguing that some small, organised groups had on multiple occasions disrupted public life and sought to damage the state and economy. He called such groups “extremist” and accused them of operating on instructions and funding from foreign intelligence services.

“We have a responsibility to more than 1,100,000 voters to rid the country of this disease called the collective UNM,” Kobakhidze said, adding that the aim is to secure a healthy, democratic political system in Georgia.

The Prime Minister also warned that small groups blocking streets and staging disruptive actions could not dictate the country’s future, saying their tactics had caused limited damage but must not be allowed to continue.