“We have just marked the 35th anniversary of Georgia’s independence referendum, and it is deeply symbolic that today we see before us groups who are actively fighting against that independence,” declared the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, in remarks to journalists.

Papuashvili responded to a question regarding the presence of Opposition Alliance members, Levan Sanikidze, Tina Bokuchava, and Tamar Chergoleishvili, in Türkiye.

The Speaker stated that the United National Movement is an enemy of Georgian independence.

“We marked the 35th anniversary of Georgia’s independence referendum just days ago, on March 31. It is profoundly symbolic that today we are witnessing those very groups that are waging war against Georgian independence. These are groups acting against Georgia’s sovereignty, because their political path is the replacement of the government through foreign assistance, by undemocratic means. That, then, is the choice before us today. The United National Movement has once again demonstrated that the choice lies between those who stand for independence and those who stand against it. When the United National Movement was in power, it demonstrated what it truly means to lack independence, to act solely on foreign directives. The wars and crises into which the UNM plunged Georgia during its time in government are a testament to precisely what it means not to be a sovereign country. There is a Georgian people that stands for independence, who gave Georgian Dream its mandate to govern. It is our independent decisions that have delivered economic growth rather than economic collapse, which is what the opponents of independence were calling for through the imposition of sanctions and the path of escalation with Russia. We have the capacity to advance our own national interests.

This is what it means to be an enemy of Georgian independence. The United National Movement is an enemy of Georgian independence. That is why they travel from city to city, abroad, seeking foreign assistance. They say so themselves that they go with a plan: should they come to power, they will explain how Georgia and the Georgian people are to serve the interests of foreign states. Let us see whom they manage to convince or fail to convince,” said Shalva Papuashvili.