The Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, spoke at a conference a few days ago, which was attended by representatives of the diplomatic services of various countries, about the upcoming parliamentary elections and said that certain external forces will definitely try to intervene. According to the ambassador, she does not have specific facts and evidence, but the probability that the Kremlin will become more active in the near future and try to influence on the elections by strengthening propaganda is great:„I do not have specific evidences, but the probability that Russia will try to interfere in the Georgian elections is very high. . . Of course, we have all seen how active and creative Russian disinformation is that affects and interferes in too many elections. . . “
According to her, the United States, Great Britain and Georgia’s “other friends” are actively working to allow the country to hold free elections and raise public awareness, but the ambassador stressed that the government has a key role to play in this process. Moreover, she explained that the leading party must do all its best to make the public more aware of the ongoing processes, that people could distinguish truth from disinformation and, in this way ultimately cut off the way for pro-Russian forces in the country who will inevitably try to achieve certain results in the upcoming elections. . .
We’d like toremind: Not only the Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia, but also the diplomatic corps of the entire West often talks about strengthening Russian influence in the country. Despite the lack of evidence, which they themselves recognize, statements are made more and more often. As to the government, it receives instructions almost openly that იn the political spectrum of the country, no subject other than the pro-Western one, be it a party, a public group or any other, should have a perspective. . .
What does the statement of the US Ambassador about the possible Russian interference in the elections mean and what changes should we expect in the light of this statement in the near future? Levan Chachua, Chairman of the “Georgian Idea” Party, talks to “Georgia and the World”
– Mr. Levan, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said at one of the conferences that Russia is likely to try to interfere in Georgia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, which the government should not allow. Moreover, the Georgian government, together with its Western friends and partners, must fight against the “Russian propaganda and disinformation” in the country, however, at the same conference she underlined that she does not have any particular concrete evidence that the Kremlin will intervene in the Georgian elections. What are these statements about, why are our Western „friends“ talking about some dangers in advance, when they themselves admit that they have no evidence?
– When the government in the United States changed and Trump’s administration came to power, there was an expectation that the world would change in the near future, and the Western so-called political-ideological hegemony of liberal democracy would be shattered. This expectation was also facilitated by the fact that the Republicans built their pre-election campaign on an anti-liberal narrative. Their main message to the people was that America would not impose its way of life on anyone else. By the way, in his inaugural address, President Trump reiterated several times that Washington would never interfere in the internal affairs of other states, which was a great hope. Expectations have arisen from here, but unfortunately, despite this rhetoric, the influential Western ruling elite continues to pursue colonial policies in smaller nations like we are, does not stop its pressure over the appointed by them “dreamy” government and, does not leave even a minimal room for the national forces. As for Degnan’s specific statement, it is, of course, a continuation of the Western approaches that were publicized in his time by Clinton, Biden, and similar political mentors. Moreover, it is a kind of warning and instruction to the government before the elections not to allow the formation of a force in the country that will be beyond the ideological control of the „Western“ dictatorship.
– Why have there been so many recent statements about “Russian propaganda” and the existence of pro-Russian forces? What does this mean for the authors of these statements?
– I think this is an attempt to establish a kind of political stigma that if they see the danger of strengthening the conservative wing as the elections approach (which, sooner or later, will happen because the conservative forces really have the growing support of the people), the ground will be prepared for their discrediting.By the way, in that time, I, along with my comrades, was turned into a political prisoner by the American ambassador John Bass, who, in one his statement, gave the green light to Saakashvili’s regime to arrest us.The Georgian people have dubbed the US ambassador John Bass a nickname „green“, because the criminal regime of the “National Movement” has given the green light to all crimes, by him. However, eight years after the change of government, the government of the ”Dream” turned out to be no less a good executor of foreign directives and successfully maintains an anti-Georgian political system in the conditions of cohabitation.
As for expectations of change after Trump’s presidency, it turned out to be exaggerated. In any case, strengthening the Conservative wing cannot really provide fundamental transformation. . . It is necessary to form a strong political pole of conservative forces in Georgia as well.
– Reactive political rhetoric, and in particular the aggressive anti-Russian discourse raised by Saakashvili at the zenith, has once again brought Georgia into conflict with the Russian Federation. What will this course bring to our country in the future?
– I repeat: the Georgian government, many times already, this time has the task through Degnan’s mouth not to allow the hardships of the national forces before the elections and, most importantly, not to allow the change of the “liberal” agenda. This will be a precondition for the country to get rid of the “democratic” medieval colonialism of the “democratic” West once and for all.
As to the results, what will happen in future and what it will bring this as if anti-Russian hysteria, let’s not to speak about this in advance. In 2008, when Saakashvili, who was motivated by exactly the same hysterical rhetoric, was bombing sleeping Tskhinvali, I was in Gori and saw wounded soldiers every day who cursed mothers at the Nationals and Americans. Do you know why? Because they were deceived, they were told that the Americans had agreed everything with Russia, and that only Tskhinvali was to be freed from the bandit-like formations that supported Kokoiti. Imagine , government officials with their families fled to hotels in Yerevan and Baku, and the soldiers left face-to-face with the Russian army so that the fighters no longer had food and no bullets. Of course, those persons who were ordering such tasks to the criminal government of Georgia and acted for only their own political purposes, today will do the same if it becomes necessary and if they consider that the tame came for another hot spot to appear in the Caucasus.
-, As for a hot spot, do you think that if full “liberal” hegemony is not established here, which can be thwarted by conservative forces, it is possible that the West will try to provoke destabilization? For example, like the Ukrainian Euromaidan?
– Western liberal democracy, as an ideologically bankrupt figure, is already on the brink of extinction, so given that this agenda may soon have nothing to lose and the processes going on here, it will certainly consider a revolutionary scenario where it sees the danger of losing control. Georgia can be considered as one of the candidates and this is quite real, because, the signs of revolution we saw in the last June, when certain destructive forces tried to organize coup in the country via cheap provocations. They still have other more `peaceful” tools to block the national forces, for example – the informational blockade that is used against me and against a while “Georgian Ida”. As you know none of the TVs want to invite us. The only thing we manage to do for delivering our opinion to the public, is “Georgia and the World” and social networks. These are the unequal conditions in which the majority of society has to fight to escape the dictatorship of the minority. Such democracy and freedom of speech were established by the West in Georgia. The compromise on our part in this fight is unimaginable. We have no way back, because after retreating, there will be no chance for the anti-Georgian and anti-state forces to correct mistakes and survive ourselves . . .
-, Last question: there are four months left before the elections. What are the chances of national-conservative forces in these elections?
-, Our Party “Georgian Idea” is going to participate in the elections. I would like to ask our spiritual brothers and sisters, who are inert about the ongoing political processes in the country, to be more active in uniting the national forces, which the long-awaited God-given country has been waiting for. But it is not the “third force” that is waiting, but a new force, with a clean past and patriotic political nucleus that will fight for eternal values and will not back down in the fight against the Antichrist standards
Interviewed by Jaba Zhvania
