PM: Georgian Gov’t targeted with “pro-Russian” label for rejecting external orders

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday took to social media to claim that labeling opponents as “pro-Russian” was a well-established tactic of the deep state, which he says leverages media under its “total control and censorship” in Europe as its most effective tool.

The Prime Minister asserted that attempts were being made to attach this same label to the ruling Georgian Dream party. He attributed this to his Government's refusal to act on external directives, its commitment to protecting sovereignty, its stance against LGBTQ+ propaganda, and its decision not to engage in war.

“Labeling opponents as pro-Russian in various countries is a well-established tactic of the deep state. For this purpose, it uses the media as its most effective tool - media which, in Europe, is almost entirely under the deep state’s control and subject to its censorship. Thanks to this monopolized media, they can easily craft any image for any politician”, Kobakhidze said.

“For example, as soon as the French opposition leader Marine Le Pen's ratings reached a critical level, she was immediately labeled as pro-Russian - without presenting any evidence to the public. A similar method was used to remove Georgescu, the winner of the first round of Romania's presidential elections, from the political process. He was first declared pro-Russian, and later the court questioned Russian interference via TikTok in Georgescu’s favor and annulled the election - again, without presenting any evidence. In Moldova, labeling politicians as pro-Russian has become the most effective tool for banning opposition forces through judicial means - without anyone bothering to provide proof. For years now, the Government of Hungary has been fighting this kind of deep state propaganda. Simply because Viktor Orbán’s administration defends national interests, opposes pseudo-liberal ideology and advocates for peace, he has been branded a pro-Russian politician. And once again, no evidence has ever been presented”, he continued.

He further stressed that a similar campaign had been observed by the Georgian public since the day the Georgian Dream party came to power.

“In this campaign, the deep state has mobilized not only the local radical opposition and NGOs, but also their foreign sponsors, including representatives of the European bureaucracy. There is only one reason why our government is being labeled as pro-Russian: we do not act on external directives; we have cleansed all branches of power of foreign agents; we protect our sovereignty; we have not allowed LGBT propaganda; and we have stayed out of war. Once again, no one has bothered to provide any actual evidence to support the pro-Russian accusations”, the PM concluded.