14 years ago, on this day, a turning point occurred in the recent history of Georgia, the political union Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia was founded, - the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, says in a statement posted on the social network.

As Kobakhidze writes, today Georgia already lives in a completely different reality. According to his assessment, public trust in institutions has increased and the justice system has become transparent and independent, while law enforcement agencies “have been freed from political influences and today serve the law and society”.

As for the media environment, according to the Prime Minister, the media today is diverse and pluralistic.

Kobakhidze also emphasized the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili and noted that the Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream has made a great contribution to the formation of the modern Georgian state.

“April 21, 2012, which logically followed the defeat of the National Movement regime on October 1, 2012, symbolically became the point from which we emerged from a country with an autocratic governance model, subordinate to external interests, into a modern, democratic, dignified state.

Our political team, step by step, began to move towards building a sovereign, stable, developed state, and today it is clear to everyone that we have forever left behind the most difficult legacy created by the National Movement regime.

Today, 14 years after the founding of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, it is impossible not to recall the difficulties that our team and the Georgian people have overcome. Although a certain part of the population believes that drawing parallels with the situation during the National Movement regime after 14 years is irrelevant today, it is necessary to remember what kind of mandate to govern the country the Georgian society has given to the Georgian Dream and what kind of state we live in today. We must not forget that our country has embarked on the path of irreversible development since 2012 and has become a state the starting point of which is people, and the main priority is the protection of state sovereignty, democratic and national values.

Until 2012, Georgia was faced with systemic problems, problems that not only made it impossible to breathe freely, but also undermined the foundations of our statehood.

Our political team took over a country where justice was selective, and the judiciary had zero trust; gross and systematic violations of human rights were part of our daily lives, which was felt not only at the individual but also at the public level; all large media outlets with the ability to broadcast throughout the country were subject to the interests of one party, and the level of media restrictions reached such a scale that no one dared even talk about the importance of diversity of information and critical opinion; the main pillar of the anti-national regime's terror was politicized power structures, which did not care about protecting their compatriots and living in peace, but had turned into a weapon directed against citizens, a weapon that killed, trampled on human rights, and was used for total control and pressure. It is logical that, against the backdrop of such "law enforcement agencies", the main punitive function was represented by prisons - a closed system where many people were unjustly placed for political expediency, from which the voices of tortured prisoners could not be heard and in which there was no hope of continuing to live freely after serving their sentences”, reads the statement.

According to him, against the backdrop of the extremely difficult legacy, with the legitimacy of the Georgian population, since coming to power, the Georgian Dream has taken full responsibility for the country and, despite fundamental problems, has begun to build a just, democratic, and stable state through systemic changes implemented over the years.

“Of course, challenges still exist, especially considering the modern world order, when geopolitical interests often intersect with the national interests of small and developing states. In such a situation, one of the main challenges for Georgia and our political team remains the protection of sovereignty and maintaining an independent political course. We have repeatedly seen various attempts to influence the internal processes of the country, be it political, economic or informational pressure. It is against this background that the ability and courage of the ruling political team to make decisions solely in accordance with the national interests of the country and not to allow the strengthening of those forces that, considering narrow political interests, are associated with the most difficult experience of the past, acquires special importance. Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia receives its legitimacy from the Georgian people, which is confirmed by democratic elections held year after year and by the support of the public. Accordingly, naturally, the main task of our political team is to develop the country in a direction that responds to the demands of citizens. It is precisely the result of the legitimacy granted by the Georgian people that today Georgia is a country with a strong foundation and a clear vision of development. I congratulate each member of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, each supporter of our political team, each patriot of our country on this important anniversary. There are even greater goals and opportunities ahead, opportunities that we will use together to strengthen our homeland!” - Kobakhidze writes on his personal page on the social network.