Lelo-Strong Georgia’s Gegelia views politician who blames Georgian army for war crimes as a traitor

“For years, the Georgian Dream regime and its high-ranking officials were doing their best to blame the Georgian state for war crimes. Any individual, regardless of his party affiliation and which side he represents, who blames the Georgian state and army for war crimes is either a traitor or stupid,” said Grigol Gegelia, a member of the Lelo-Strong Georgia party.

According to Gegelia, accusing the Georgian army of war crimes is unacceptable for Lelo.

“It is categorically unacceptable for us that Georgian soldiers, the Georgian army, and the Georgian state be accused, at any point in our country’s history, of war crimes that were never committed. I am not going to enter into assessments of patriotism for uninteresting private individuals or assess their anti-Russian or pro-Russian attitude.

However, significantly for me, I should say that any side, party or politician who blames the Georgian army for war crimes is either a traitor or stupid. Regrettably, we have seen many such politicians,” he said.

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has launched a criminal investigation into allegations of high treason and sabotage following public statements made by Giorgi Baramidze, a member of the United National Movement (UNM).

The matter concerns a statement made by Gia Baramidze, one of the leaders of the United National Movement (UNM), according to which “during the war in Abkhazia, Georgian military personnel executed prisoners, which is why the Abkhaz side refused to hand captives over.”