MP Macharashvili: Accusing your own country and military of executing prisoners isn’t a slip of tongue; it is rotten to the core

“Baramidze’s statement is simply a continuation of the resolution that his party, the United National Movement (UNM), previously backed, blaming its own soldiers for initiating the operation ordered by the political leadership under Saakashvili in 2008,” stated MP Guram Macharashvili, a member of People’s Power.

According to Macharashvili, this reflects the fundamental nature of the UNM and its leadership.

“This was no accidental slip of the tongue, despite Baramidze’s current attempts to claim otherwise. Furthermore, his pseudo-clarification proved even worse than the original comment, saying, ‘Instead of the word execution, I should have used something else.’ What difference does the phrasing make? In substance, he declared precisely what they have been accusing their own military of since the war.

Were it not for the Georgian Dream administration and its fight across two international venues, The Hague and Strasbourg, our own soldiers would have been pinned with war crimes because of the UNM. For four whole years, between 2008 and 2012, no evidence whatsoever was submitted to international courts regarding war crime allegations in the dispute between Russia and Georgia. This statement by Baramidze is the direct manifestation and natural continuation of that resolution, where they blamed their own soldiers for starting the war, and now for executing prisoners of war.

Whether Baramidze uses the word ‘execution’ or coats it in whatever phrasing he pleases, did he not say it in substance? That is the tragedy here. Naturally, no one takes joy in this. It is deplorable, yet it confirms what we have been saying for years: the UNM is a pseudo-political party that deliberately destroys its own state to serve the interests of foreign powers. That is the reality.

As for the investigation, we naturally hope that many more facts will be uncovered. It will be interesting to hear what Baramidze himself says during questioning and how he attempts to explain it further. It is a very good thing that the Georgian public will finally learn even more about what Baramidze thinks beyond what he says openly, and not just him, but the former administration as a whole. This is a topic where slips of the tongue do not happen. When you accuse your own homeland and your own military first of starting a war and then of executing prisoners, that is not an accident; it is rotten inside you. The investigative process will be very telling, and we hope the authorities will keep the public fully informed,” stated Macharashvili.

For context, UNM member Gia Baramidze previously stated: “During the war in Abkhazia, Georgian soldiers executed prisoners, which is why the Abkhazian side refused to hand over captives.”

On August 7, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia launched a criminal investigation into high treason and sabotage because of Gia Baramidze’s statement.