Ex-President Saakashvili: Part of NGO sector lost touch with people; public will not fight to protect them

“We need broad societal unity free from false authorities and self-appointed arbiters. Georgia will triumph when lies, no matter who utters them, are defeated, and the truth prevails,” former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili wrote on social media.

According to Saakashvili, a section of Georgian non-governmental organisations has detached itself from the public and holds zero traction with the people.

“You will not hear this read on your television channels, but the time for mincing words is well and truly over. Let me address Transparency International Georgia and certain other NGOs once again. During those nine years when the entire world commended us, they were busy telling everyone that things were not as good as they seemed and were, in fact, disastrous. Then came the national disaster of October 1, 2012, after which many foreign friends initially shared Kakha Bendukidze’s brilliant remark: ‘On October 1, 2012, we took a step forward, but we stepped right into manure.’ These NGOs, however, switched to a different frequency, reassuring everyone that things were not so bad and pointing to Tsulukiani’s first, second, and third waves of judicial reform as examples of progress,” Saakashvili wrote.

“So let us follow basic logic. Is TI Georgia not an effective accomplice to Otar Partskhaladze when it refuses to label as political persecution the case he fabricated against me, which specifically concerns purchasing suits, bath service expenses during President Yushchenko’s official visit, and a wreath brought to President Kaczyński’s funeral? Was this organisation, along with several others, not an effective accomplice to Ivanishvili when they stayed silent on the mass persecution of the opposition, the targeting of our fighters who battled Russia, and widespread violations during the 2018 presidential and 2020 parliamentary elections, thereby objectively aiding Ivanishvili?

Is TI Georgia not being untruthful when it claims its political prisoner list is based on Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolutions, when in reality, in the very first resolution following my imprisonment, the Assembly explicitly termed me not merely a political prisoner, but Putin’s personal prisoner, demanding my release in every subsequent resolution? Who is lying? TI Georgia, which claims I am not a political prisoner, or the European Parliament, which calls me a political hostage? The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and countless other leading Western publications, alongside Amnesty International and numerous democratic politicians, all call me a political prisoner.

Is TI Georgia lying when it claims I was excluded from their list because it only covers those detained for statements? Meanwhile, Ivanishvili’s chief henchmen have insisted for years that the more Saakashvili speaks, the more years they will add to his sentence, and I am currently on trial over a comment about Ivanishvili wanting to take a selfie with a shark. I genuinely do not understand why people who constantly preach political renewal should claim to be the ultimate arbiters of truth while sitting comfortably in high-salaried positions for decades, attempting to lecture the rest of us,” Mikheil Saakashvili questioned.

“Let me remind you that TI’s director, Gigauri, has held her post for nearly 20 years, while Khutsishvili has headed the Soros Foundation since 2002. Some NGO directors jumped straight from civil society to Ivanishvili’s camp, like GYLA Chair Chugoshvili, who became Ivanishvili’s Vice-Speaker and a vocal international propagandist for him until conditions forced her out.

Part of the NGO sector lost touch with the people long ago, which is why they have zero traction with the public. I am categorically opposed to harassing or banning NGOs, but I also know with certainty that the public as a whole will not go out on a limb to defend them for the reasons outlined above.

We need broad societal unity free from false authorities and self-appointed arbiters! Georgia will triumph when lies, regardless of their source, are defeated, and the truth prevails. Please share this post so we can stem the tide of falsehoods,” the former President posted on social media.