Federalists’ Chergoleishvili: You will burn in hellfire for using blackmail to stifle debate and dumb down our politics

“You will burn in hellfire, every single one of you who for years banned political debate and competition through blackmail and dumbed down the political spectrum to this extent. Look at the state of this political spectrum, crawling in the mud; how is this fitting for us, the heirs of Ilia Chavchavadze and the First Republic?” Tamar Chergoleishvili, leader of the Federalists party, wrote in a social media post.

As Chergoleishvili noted, Teimuraz Papaskiri, a key figure in the Ahali party, falsely accused Giga Bokeria of editing and doctoring Nika Gvaramia’s interview.

According to Chergoleishvili, Papaskiri was publicly challenged to a debate on the matter:

“Since last night, Teimuraz Papaskiri, one of the leaders of Ahali, has been falsely accusing Giga of doctoring Gvaramia’s interview.

One would have to be an utterly delusional fool to accuse Bokeria of betraying accuracy, but he clearly does not know him, so let us set that aside.

We offered him a live debate where he could expose our supposed lies;
We offered to let him edit Gvaramia’s interview himself to highlight whichever parts we allegedly distorted and expose us;
We offered that he write down his arguments detailing what Bokeria supposedly accused Gvaramia of, so we might understand his grievance.
Instead, he keeps repeating: ‘Everyone knows you are lying.’

So let me tell you this: you will burn in hellfire, all of you who for years suppressed political debate and competition through blackmail, dumbing down the political class in the process.

You are all bound for hell, and I will personally ensure you find no peace here on Earth.

Look at the state of this political spectrum; look at where it is crawling. How is this worthy of us, the heirs of Ilia Chavchavadze and the First Republic?” Chergoleishvili wrote.