For Georgia’s Sharashidze advises Salome Zourabichvili to exercise “prudence and moderation,” recalls her role in events leading up to October 4

“What we heard from Salome Zourabichvili today is not merely unacceptable. I would advise her—and it is up to her whether she chooses to take this as advice or as a warning—to rein in her emotions in a timely manner. No one knows better than we do who a ‘slave’ is,” Giorgi Sharashidze, a member of the Gakharia for Georgia party, said on GPB First Channel’s Dghis Tema (Topic of the Day).

Sharashidze was responding to remarks made earlier by Salome Zourabichvili, who criticized Gakharia for Georgia for what she described as its submissive attitude.

“It is shameful that Gakharia’s party is, in a sense, flirting and posturing—as if to say, ‘Look at me, I’m a good person, a good slave! We will submit to you further and remain completely yours.’ When there is no solidarity or support for others, and salaries and positions matter more to them than the country itself, we need to be aware of that,” Zourabichvili said.

“I would advise Ms. Salome Zourabichvili—and I will probably call her ‘Ms.’ for the last time—to show some prudence and restraint. What we heard from her today is not merely unacceptable. I would advise her, whether she chooses to take it as advice or a warning, to rein in her emotions before it is too late. As for who is a ‘slave,’ no one knows that better than we do. We also understand better than anyone the real motives behind the statements being made, including those made today,” Sharashidze said.

He added that Zourabichvili should exercise caution, particularly in light of the current circumstances and developments at the Constitutional Court.

“Should we remind her that Salome Zourabichvili was one of the politicians behind the irresponsible provocation and reckless scheme of October 4? Whether she was misled or deliberately took part in this process is something she should explain to the public herself,” he said.

According to Sharashidze, had the events of October 4 not occurred, the current Constitutional Court proceedings would not have taken place.

“October 4 was an irresponsible provocation that gave Georgian Dream additional legitimacy, strengthened its power vertical, and provided the justification and grounds for bringing us to the situation we face today. Instead of taking responsibility, explaining herself to the public, or taking action to help the dozens of people who were genuinely misled and are now serving unjust sentences, facing many more years in prison, what is Salome Zourabichvili actually talking about? That is why I say she should exercise common sense, whether she chooses to take this as a warning or as advice,” Sharashidze said.

Sharashidze also commented on the Constitutional Court’s review of the lawsuit seeking to ban opposition parties.

“We have reached a point where this lawsuit has become absurd. That is why we are asking for our case to be separated from the others. We have never been involved in boycotts, violence, or any attempt to overthrow the government, whether peacefully or otherwise,” he said.

During the program, the host recalled the government’s position that Giorgi Gakharia’s party had decided to enter Parliament only after the events of October 4, having waited to see how they would unfold.

In response, Sharashidze said his party had been added to the case at the last minute in an entirely artificial manner, leaving it insufficient time to prepare for the proceedings.

“For us, this is not a problem; we will manage somehow. As you saw today, our representative and our team presented a very strong position. We are not exposing the artificiality and absurdity of this case merely to defend our own party. We need to show the public what Georgian Dream is really trying to achieve.

“Essentially, we must prevent Georgian Dream from deceiving the public once again by claiming that a party is being banned for violating a specific constitutional provision. Georgian Dream’s objective is to ban dissenting opinions in this country, declare them unconstitutional, and establish a one-party system—in other words, a dictatorship,” Sharashidze said.