Nika Gvaramia: Gegelia either met different Americans or is lying

“Grigol Gegelia has claimed on TV Pirveli that America is disappointed with the boycott policy. To put it plainly: either Grigol Gegelia met with different Americans, or Grigol Gegelia is lying. Americans said nothing of the sort, nor could it have been,” writes Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Opposition Alliance, on social media.

According to Gvaramia, the Americans are not the opposition’s mentors, there to scold them, nor is the opposition their apprentices, obliged to sit with bowed heads and receive lectures.

“Just as Charles Michel was no one’s mentor, except for those who were desperate to tuck a blanket under their feet in a parliamentary armchair and use Charles Michel as their justification for doing so. The Americans said nothing of the kind, and they could not have done so.

Why might Grigol be lying? Because he may harbour a desire to return to parliament, and/or the vain hope that the political persecution of his party’s leaders might come to an end. But alongside the lie, this is also sheer foolishness. We can recall any number of cases where people tried to ‘come to an arrangement’ with the Georgian Dream, and every single one ended simultaneously in prison and political oblivion. It couldn’t be more obvious,” writes Gvaramia.

For context, in the statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Georgia regarding the meetings between the American delegation and opposition leaders between May 25–28, the following was stated: “Democracy requires a political opposition that engages with state institutions on behalf of the citizens who voted for them.”

Meanwhile, Lelo party member Grigol Gegelia, speaking about those same meetings, stated: “We were told that America is disappointed with the boycott policy. It was stated quite plainly that the U.S. does not support boycotts, does not support sitting out elections, does not support abandoning any form of political struggle, but rather supports the full engagement of every political force in the political process, participating as completely as possible, including in the life of political institutions.”