Giorgi Baramidze: The European Parliament’s resolution is historic because the European Union has never been this clear; I call on "Lelo" not to persist in its mistake and not to grant legitimacy to "Georgian Dream," as stated in the resolution

“This is a historic resolution because the European Union has never been so clear. It also shows the dire state of democracy in our homeland. The European Parliament considers that the process planned by ‘Georgian Dream’ for October 4 will only serve to legitimize this regime, and naturally, it expresses no confidence in it,” said Giorgi Baramidze, the political secretary of the United National Movement.

According to Giorgi Baramidze, the European Parliament’s resolution demonstrates that the participation of opposition parties in local elections would only lend legitimacy to “Georgian Dream.” Therefore, the party calls on “Lelo” not to “persist in its mistake.”

“I want to congratulate you on the adoption of a very significant, historic resolution by the European Parliament, which clearly expresses support for the Georgian people and state, as well as for the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. It also expresses very clear and evident concern regarding the regime that exists in Georgia. The European Parliament, with an absolute majority of votes and the participation of major parties, does not recognize ‘Georgian Dream’ as a legitimate government, condemns the existence of political prisoners in the country, the imprisonment of political leaders—Mikheil Saakashvili, Zura Girchi Japaridze, Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and others—and demands their release. It also calls for the release of young people detained for political reasons, including Mzia Amaghlobeli.

The resolution calls on the regime, which is aligned and colluding with Russia and other authoritarian regimes, to hold parliamentary elections controlled and overseen by free and independent bodies. It considers that the process planned for October 4 will only serve to legitimize this regime, and naturally, it expresses no confidence in it.

This is a historic resolution because the EU has never been so clear. It also shows the dire state of democracy in our homeland, which, not long ago, was named a leader among Eastern countries in the process of integration with NATO and the EU. However, the harmful and treasonous processes carried out by Ivanishvili’s criminal and traitorous Russian gang have practically brought the country to isolation, to the point where our main partner adopts such a resolution.

We intend to fight to the end, of course, with peaceful, non-violent methods, but with principle, consistency, and without compromise, against this treasonous Russian regime. I take this opportunity to once again call on the ‘Lelo’ party to recognize its mistake and not persist in it, not to break the opposition’s unity, and not to grant legitimacy to ‘Georgian Dream’ by participating in a Russian special operation, as stated in the European Parliament’s resolution. We must fight together with unity,” said Giorgi Baramidze.

Additionally, Giorgi Baramidze responded to a statement by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, regarding Georgia’s third president.

According to Baramidze, Shalva Papuashvili claimed that the European Court of Human Rights allegedly exposed Mikheil Saakashvili for systemic and systematic torture of prisoners, which has no basis in truth.

“I want to take this opportunity to respond to the statement by this gang of traitors and criminals, Papuashvili, who claimed that the European Court of Human Rights exposed Mikheil Saakashvili for systemic and systematic torture of prisoners. This is a blatant lie, yet another piece of Kremlin propaganda, another piece of filthy propaganda characteristic of this regime of traitors and criminals, which has nothing to do with the truth. I once again call on this regime to come to its senses, to release Putin’s personal prisoner, President Saakashvili, the creator of our country’s modern statehood, Georgia’s third president, and all other political prisoners of this regime, and to take steps to return the country to the path of civilized development,” said Giorgi Baramidze.

Baramidze also responded to a statement by Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, in which the former president spoke about restoring the “Georgian Charter” and the participation of parties in local elections. According to Giorgi Baramidze, non-recognition of the government and non-cooperation with it is the core of the struggle, which will lead to the appointment of new parliamentary elections.

“Of course, we welcome the part of Salome Zurabishvili’s statement where she calls the elections a farce and a Russian special operation. We welcome everyone’s correct assessment. As for the second part, it is unclear why she does not understand that when we talk about a farce and a Russian special operation, one should not participate in it. In legal and political terms, this is called a boycott. Boycott is a conditional term; a more accurate term would be non-violent, peaceful resistance against the treasonous and criminal Russian regime. Its non-recognition and non-collaboration is the essence of our struggle, so that ultimately the situation in the country changes, and an environment is created where it will be possible to hold new, fair parliamentary elections,” said Giorgi Baramidze.