Tbilisi Mayor condemns use of public stage to ‘insult’ others as totally unacceptable

“These people are trying to act against the Georgian state. They are angry because we did not heed their threats and did not submit to the messages they voiced,” stated Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze in his assessment of the EU Delegation to Georgia’s statement regarding the cancellation of Georgian musician Aleksandre Kordzaia’s (Kordz) concert in Gori.

According to his explanation, protecting the homeland and national interests remains the utmost priority in every step taken by the ruling team.

“In reality, we know that these individuals are attempting to go against the Georgian state. Let us be direct: they are angry because we did not heed their threats and did not comply with the messages they voiced to open a second front in the country and join the sanctions.

In every step taken on our part, the main priority has been the homeland and the defence of the country’s national interests. They dislike this, and throughout this entire period, an assault continues on the Georgian state and the government elected by the Georgian people. This will likely continue in the future, which is a regrettable reality,” noted the Mayor of Tbilisi.

He further explained that while freedom of speech and expression is protected in Georgia, expressing differing opinions must be done decently and without resorting to insults.

“Freedom of expression is protected in Georgia. Today, every individual has the opportunity to express their opinion, but acting through insults, slander, threats, and physical violence, as the external handlers of these stateless individuals instruct us, is not freedom of speech and expression. That is a crime, and everything must be called by its proper name.

When you use a stage to insult someone, that is categorically unacceptable. You have the means to express an opinion, even from a stage, but it must remain within the bounds of propriety, the law, and decency,” declared Kakha Kaladze.