“Today, we are dealing with an empire of death, and this empire of death does not stop. It is seeking to weaken the Georgian state and eventually abolish it,” journalist and co-founder of the citizens’ association “Anti-Annexation Platform” Irakli Tabliashvili said at the presentation of the platform.

According to him, the movement should unite Georgian citizens and enable them to voice the main message that Georgia will not accept annexation and occupation.

“In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an ‘evil empire.’ Today, we are dealing with an empire of death, and this empire of death does not stop. It is seeking to weaken the Georgian state and eventually abolish it.

“The anti-annexation movement should unite absolutely everyone. Each of us must feel responsibility toward this country - toward its present and future. And, of course, toward its past as well. This is an extremely important movement that should, in principle, unite many Georgian citizens and enable many citizens to voice the essential message that under no circumstances will we give in to or accept either occupation or annexation, which Russia has already attempted and will seek to pursue even more strongly after some period of time,” Irakli Tabliashvili said.

For reference, today, the citizens’ association “Anti-Annexation Platform” was established at the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel. At the event, the platform adopted a declaration titled: “No to Occupation and De Facto Annexation - Yes to Justice, Peace and Georgia’s Territorial Integrity.”

The founders of the platform are: Vladimer Chachibaia - former Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces; Nodar Kharshiladze - former Deputy Minister of Defense and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, co-founder of the Center for Strategic Analysis (CSAC); Akia Barbakadze - retired colonel, former Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia; Kakha Gogidze - film director; Paata Davitaia - Chairman of the “European Democrats of Georgia”; Nikoloz Vashakidze - former Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia, First Deputy Foreign Minister and former First Deputy Defense Minister of Georgia; Mamuka Gamkrelidze - former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to China; Giorgi Melashvili - Director of the European-Georgian Institute (EGI); and Irakli Tabliashvili - journalist.