Georgia’s ruling party: UK imposed sanctions against two leading Georgian broadcasters, which is an unprecedented attack on media freedom

The political council of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday condemned the United Kingdom’s decision to impose sanctions on Imedi TV and POSTV as an unprecedented and unjust attack on free Georgian media.

The ruling party stressed that the official reason for the sanctions was both “tragic and comical”.

“The UK has imposed sanctions against two leading Georgian broadcasters, which is an unprecedented attack on media freedom. This is both tragic and comical by taking into account the official reason for the sanctions”, the statement said.

The council claimed that the real motive behind the decision was to provide support to what it described as a “discredited” and weakened domestic opposition.

“Naturally, the true motive behind the attack on free Georgian media was to give the discredited, hanging between life and death opposition a small chance to retain its strength. For foreign ill-wishers of our country the need for this is still acutely on the agenda. They see that on one side stands the Georgian Dream serving the Georgian people, to which the Georgian people have twice expressed their firm faith in the past two years, and on the other side stands a radical opposition in the service of external forces, a foreign agency that does not value the legitimacy of the Georgian people and cares only about failing to fulfil the goals of its foreign patrons”, the council noted.

The statement argued that the ruling Georgian Dream party was enjoying firm public legitimacy, referencing electoral victories over the past two years, while characterising the opposition as acting in the interests of foreign forces rather than the Georgian state.

“The word “stateless” most accurately describes these people, as their reaction to the British sanctions has once again demonstrated in the best possible way. It is already obvious to everyone, and they do not hide it themselves, that for these stateless people not only the homeland, which is a much higher and more emotional concept, but also the state and statehood mean nothing. In fact, they have only one motivation - to wait on their knees for tasks from foreign patrons, the unconditional fulfilment of which is their only duty”, the statement said.

“It is logical that they expect help only from foreign patrons, especially when it is obvious that they are not only in great difficulty, but also on the verge of non-existence. The only source of legitimacy for these people is not the support of the Georgian people, but of foreign masters. The centuries-old history of our country has undoubtedly taught us that every Georgian with a passport, who entered and acted in this country with the support and instructions of foreign forces, brought only chaos, destruction and slavery”, the statement noted.

The ruling party rejected claims that the government or free media face collapse, viewing such assertions as absurd propaganda from groups with zero chance of popular backing.

“Of course, no sanctions can force the National Broadcaster to refuse to tell the truth and inform the Georgian public. No one can suppress the right word in Georgia, because just as water will inevitably find its bed, so the truth will always find its way. Against this background, the shout of joy that people without a homeland, without a state-based mindset and a sense of the state expressed in response to a foreign attack on media freedom is exceptionally comical and tragic. This reaction is the best illustration of what the value system has people we are dealing with”, the council said.

“The public saw that as soon as the radical opposition received one-time assistance from foreign patrons through the sanctions of Imedi TV and POSTV, they began to assert the absurdity with a unified message box that the government and free Georgian media were on the verge of collapse. This is another lustration and at the same time the tragedy of these people, who believe that the fate of Georgia should be decided not by the Georgian people but by an external force, because they have zero chance and hope of receiving support from the population of our country. By external power, of course, we mean a power that entrusts a local agency with a task, simultaneously assuring that it will help to come to power now and in the future if it unconditionally fulfils these tasks. However, it must work not for Georgia, but in its own interests. Whether we call these forces the deep state, the global war party, or oligarchic families, the fact remains: these are precisely the informal forces that are embedded in European bureaucracy today”, the statement noted.

The council expressed hope that the new US administration’s actions - including President Trump’s shutdown of funds tied to revolutionary activities (USAID, NED) - signal a genuine shift away from interference.

“It is interesting that a separate foreign agent, amid a backdrop of British sanctions, called on other radicals to unite and offer this unity to the West, more specifically, to the United States, as a political alternative to the Georgian Dream. He also added that the Lelo party and its leaders would definitely join their coalition proposed to Washington, since it would be difficult for this party to distance itself from the processes. This statement by the agent is interesting to us in the context of the current US administration openly declaring a foreign policy course, which implies non-interference in the internal political affairs of foreign countries. President Trump has demonstrably shut down the funds that financed the revolution, including USAID and NED, and has done so in a way that openly exposes their covert interference in the political life of foreign countries, organising revolutions, and violently changing governments against the will of the people. Not a week has passed since the new administration won the election without political leaders, including Vance, Rubio, Gabbard, and others, emphasising that the United States no longer intends to interfere in the political processes of other countries. Since we are well aware that the so-called opposition agency knows very well who its owner is outside the country, when the 99 percent united agency opposition again offers its services to the US, despite their stated policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of a foreign country. This fact raises additional questions for us”, the statement said.

The Georgian Dream party suggested a positive change in US attitude toward Georgia would confirm the sincerity of the fight against the deep state, while expressing concern that European bureaucracy remains under informal influence.

“Recent events, including British sanctions, have once again convinced us that it will be very difficult to free the European bureaucracy from its informal influence in the short or even medium term. As for the US, we still hope that the fight against the so-called deep state announced by Donald Trump will end with the latter's victory. The best proof of this will be the change in the US administration's attitude towards Georgia. Amid a convergence of values, the current distant position of the United States towards Georgia is illogical and raises many question marks. A change in attitude towards Georgia will confirm that the declared fight against the deep state is not an imaginary event and an attempt to rebrand informal forces, but is sincere and real. We continue to maintain optimistic expectations. Everything will become clear in the near future”, the statement noted.

In conclusion, the council reiterated that recent events clearly distinguish the legitimate, people-supported Georgian authorities from a radical opposition serving foreign interests.

“In conclusion, we would like to reiterate that the events of recent days have best demonstrated who the Georgian authorities are, endowed with the legitimacy of the Georgian people, and who seek power only to serve the corrupt interests of Georgia's foreign patrons”, the statement concluded.