UNM’s Levan Khabeishvili: You do not even dare to call a rally; all spring and summer you bragged about what you would do come autumn, yet September is here and you are hiding once again

“So long as you spend 24 hours a day talking about, analysing, and speculating over what Ivanishvili is doing or what he wants, we will remain stuck in this quagmire. Until then, they will defeat 17-year-old brave young men, and we will be slaughtered in the streets. When will you ask the question: what do the people want? When will you reach that question? When will you summon the courage? When will you step out of the posture of the frightened?” wrote Levan Khabeishvili, a member of the United National Movement, on social media.

As Khabeishvili notes, fear lies at the root of everything: the inertia, the inaction currently taking place.

“Summon your courage, or else you will spend years to come trying to figure out what Ivanishvili wants, how he wants it, whom he will arrest, and whom he will promote.

Come to your senses. With all due respect, what is taking place on television broadcasts every single day is absolute nonsense and mere chatter. Were it not for television producers, you would have vanished entirely, morphing into ‘keyboard warriors’.

It is now starkly clear that the majority’s TV appearances serve a single purpose: sheer political survival. Some are entirely hidden away, skulking in the bushes.

You be the leaders, be the first, and I will be your servant, your activist. What you are reading right now is the naked truth, and I am trying to force you to look in the mirror. Fear reigns supreme. Inaction and stagnation persist because courage is nowhere to be found. Lacking the courage to act, you are reduced to mere commentators, endlessly dissecting and rehashing trivial issues.

All spring and summer you bragged: ‘Just wait until autumn comes; we will do this and that.’ September has arrived, and you are hiding once again, fleeing from real work. You stand ready to waste time once more, trying to somehow drag things out until November. Then you will declare the cold weather has arrived and announce a new spring. It is heartbreaking to watch all of this. As your humble servant, activist, and supporter, I grieve over this.

Shifting the blame onto parties and leaders is worn out. Whenever it suits you, you claim to be ‘bigger’ and tougher than the leaders. Those very leaders are threatened with 15 years in prison, so do not be so quick to judge them. Are we to sacrifice the country for the sake of 4, 5, or 7 leaders? Is none of this our responsibility?

You do not even dare to call a rally, to say—let us gather, let us come out in our hundreds of thousands… No one dares to announce even a routine rally to transition to genuine, active protest. It is painful to watch…

The formula is simple: everyone minus Ivanishvili; Georgia without Ivanishvili.

What is needed is courage; not killing time on TV, keeping afloat, or hiding in the bushes altogether.

Crawling out of your holes and flexing your necks when electoral lists are being drawn up is morally and professionally wrong; do not degrade yourselves or the people in such a manner.

Overcome your fear, and you will prevail. As for me? Use me. Even from prison, I will be your servant; strength is in unity,” wrote Levan Khabeishvili.