Pikria Chikhradze: The only desire driving Bidzina Ivanishvili in Georgia’s political reality is to destroy every institution and every figure of authority

“The only desire driving Bidzina Ivanishvili in Georgia’s political reality is to destroy every institution and every figure of authority. They intend to exploit the authority of the Church to the fullest, speaking endlessly about ‘language, homeland and faith’ and Christian values while engaging in actions that are entirely anti-Christian,” Pikria Chikhradze, a member of Lelo–Strong Georgia, said on PalitraNews’ program Day's Newsroom, commenting on Metropolitan Iob’s sermon.

She said Metropolitan Iob’s remarks were very strong, although the Church’s reaction to everything that has been happening may have come late.

“It was a very important sermon, containing very sharp assessments. Some may wonder whether this was like a bolt from the blue. However, those who have followed developments more closely and tried to analyse the situation that has taken shape over the years may conclude that, to some extent, the Church’s reaction has come late in relation to everything that is happening.

The so-called leaked transcripts that circulated in society predominantly concerned the personal lives, private correspondence and relationships of members of the clergy. All of this was compiled into volumes and distributed to media representatives. A person would have to be extremely naive to believe that anyone other than the state could have carried out an operation on such an enormous scale. It was a massive undertaking: practically every member of the clergy - priests, nuns, monks and bishops - was subjected to surveillance and eavesdropping. Who needed something like this? Why was the government engaged in it? What interest could it possibly have had?

The publication of these transcripts was extremely damaging because it became very difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. Very disturbing information concerning members of the clergy was made public.

I would also like to point out that the media withheld a great deal of information from the public because its disclosure was not in the public interest. The Georgian Dream government took an extremely damaging step.

The so-called cyanide case, which concerned the discrediting of the Church and was specifically directed against Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, also remains entirely unclear and shrouded in mystery. The public was told that someone was trying to kill the Patriarch. The case was subsequently reclassified and took a different direction. To this day, the circumstances surrounding how this alleged crime was committed and planned remain completely unclear. There are opinions and suspicions that the so-called cyanide case was also a kind of special operation designed to discredit a particular faction or individuals within the Church and strike a blow against the institution itself,” Chikhradze said.

Commenting on Metropolitan Iob’s remarks about Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, Chikhradze said that “Ivanishvili does not want any institution that could influence public opinion, and few institutions have had as much influence as the Church.”

According to the opposition politician, Georgian Dream representatives are telling the public openly and without disguise that “institutions of influence, influential individuals and influential associations must be suppressed, uprooted and banned, and everything must be done to neutralise this sphere.”

“The only desire driving Bidzina Ivanishvili in Georgia’s political reality is to destroy every institution and every figure of authority. I will not be the first to say that the exceptionally high level of trust enjoyed by the late Patriarch Ilia II probably frightened and irritated many political figures. For decades, the Church and Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II consistently ranked first in public trust ratings.

Bidzina Ivanishvili has not even concealed this in certain circles, and Metropolitan Iob also refers to his remark that the unassailable authority of the Patriarch created serious problems for him in a number of matters. Let us recall, for example, the plan to establish cannabis plantations, which originated with Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili personally. The Church’s clear position and firm stance put an end to that plan immediately.

That did not happen today, when opposition was also expressed against casinos, including by the new Patriarch. Georgian Dream remained completely undeterred, fast-tracked the law granting tax benefits to casinos, and the President signed it. In other words, they do not want any institution that could influence public opinion, and few institutions have had as much influence as the Church.

The same can be said about other areas. They openly state that political parties must be abolished because they influence society. They have also announced that if anyone gains sufficient influence in the future to shape public opinion, they will ban them as well. In other words, they are telling us plainly and without disguise that institutions of influence, influential individuals and influential associations must be suppressed, uprooted and banned, and everything must be done to neutralise this sphere,” Chikhradze said.

The opposition politician also stressed that Georgian Dream’s day-to-day activities are entirely anti-Georgian and anti-Church, adding that it is important for Georgian society to see how hypocritical the ruling party really is.

Although Patriarch Shio’s assessment of the tax benefits granted to casinos was quite strong and unequivocal, it did not stop Georgian Dream. They allowed themselves to proceed with the law and, despite the Church’s clearly expressed negative reaction, adopted it through an expedited procedure. This means that they intend to exploit the Church’s authority to the fullest, speaking endlessly about ‘language, homeland and faith’ and Christian values while engaging in actions that are entirely anti-Christian.

It is extremely important to expose Georgian Dream’s true face and for Georgian society to see how hypocritical they really are. Their daily activities are entirely anti-Georgian and anti-Church. This has been the case throughout the 14 years they have been in power,” Chikhradze said.

Commenting on the Constitutional Court proceedings concerning the lawsuit seeking to ban political parties, Chikhradze said that “the main signal has already been given to the Constitutional Court” and that “bias is evident on the part of certain judges.”

“It is not fundamentally important to me who the judges may be consulting with at any given moment. Unfortunately, the main signal has already been given to the Constitutional Court with the filing of this lawsuit. An attentive observer would have noticed that, during the proceedings, Georgian Dream representatives have practically been instructing the judges on how to act and demanding even greater severity from them. Unfortunately, bias is evident on the part of certain judges,” Chikhradze noted.