Mamuka Kartoziya: If Russia has not spared fraternal Ukraine, then what awaits Georgia

In Georgia, there is no end in sight to the demonstrations of individual groups of citizens who call themselves protesters. Their demands still remain incomprehensible to the rest of the Georgian population. The protesters, who have not put forward a clear leader from their ranks, have to answer questions about what purpose they took to the streets for. The answers vary greatly: "Call new elections!", "We will not become Russia!", "Let the government go home", etc. What is the essence of the protest, in an interview with the publication "Georgia and the World" said Doctor of Historical Sciences Mamuka Kartoziya.

— A few months before the parliamentary elections, our so-called opposition categorically claimed that the voting results would be falsified, and, they say, we would not forgive the Georgian Dream for this. Similar statements were made by European and American politicians. So the scenario according to which events are unfolding did not come as a surprise to anyone — they didn't make a secret of it at all, everyone knew about it, and what was happening now could have been expected. According to the Constitution, Georgian citizens have the right to protest, challenging the actions of the authorities. The question is different: I have no idea what people are protesting against today on the streets of Tbilisi and other cities, and I cannot get a more or less clear answer to this question.

The protests began with mass statements by the opposition and the president that the elections were allegedly rigged. Demands for a revision of the voting results began to be put forward. However, none of those who so loudly declared falsifications, including the president, could not provide any concrete evidence to back up their accusations, and the wave of protests gradually began to decline. Moreover, the oppositionists themselves knew perfectly well that elections held using modern digital technologies are almost impossible to rig…

We are watching what is happening on the streets of the Georgian capital, and we saw that initially the opposition parties from among those who managed to overcome the electoral barrier, as well as the president of the country, were behind the riots. The political organizations that gathered together before the elections, in fact, united artificially, for random reasons, since they do not have not only any common, but also, in general, clearly defined ideological principles. This is a random alliance of all kinds of Khazaradze, a coalition put together by Nika Gvaramia, who has long fallen out of the political cage of the United National Movement, and especially the party of Georgy Gakharia, unacceptable to society, the core of which was made up of officials who were previously in power. All these organizations a priori could not find a common language due to the lack of any unifying ideological principle, so they put the youth forward, and they themselves, one might say, covered themselves with it. The youth, on the other hand, did not have pronounced leaders from their own environment, and, remaining at a crossroads, they failed to clearly formulate the requirements put forward. As a result, it is impossible to understand what these young people are trying to achieve. The so-called protesters are completely out of touch with reality.

Ultimately, in order to ensure that protest actions do not lose their relevance, foreign players and so-called political leaders familiar to us, who have completely compromised themselves with destructive policies, began to bring groups of provocateurs to rallies and processions who deliberately resist the police. This not only periodically heats up the situation, but also carries a serious danger. However, so far our police are skillfully coping with the situation…

I would like to emphasize that the police embodies the state, and its functions do not include the protection of any particular political force or party that currently represents the government. Governments change, but law enforcement agencies remain loyal not to political organizations, but to the state. You can't insult them. The protesters are now focused on anarchy. They break, burn, destroy everything around... the leaders of the so-called opposition were unable to cope with the situation and gave the protesting youth the right to act at their own discretion. Otto von Bismarck once wisely and subtly remarked: "geniuses prepare the revolution, romantics make it, and crooks use its fruits." This is exactly what is happening here. If the so-called apolitical people manage to create a revolutionary situation, politicians will immediately appear on the scene. Although, apparently, the Western patrons of our so-called opposition have not yet decided to the end and have not decided what they themselves want from us. This is not surprising. Let's face it, at the moment Georgia is not the main concern for the rest of the world.

We have seen what happened in Syria. Russia has lost this country, and mourning reigns in some Russian circles on this occasion. They say that Syria will be divided into parts, and it will become a transit route for transporting natural gas from Qatar to Europe. That is, Russian gas, as a result, will no longer be needed by anyone, which is unthinkable. Since 2011, Russia has supported Syria, Russian troops have been stationed there. Someone is sure that Syria was not surrendered without behind-the-scenes negotiations. But in order to draw the right conclusions, you need to closely monitor all the processes. It is necessary to take into account the visit of the newly elected future US President Trump to Europe and his communication with European leaders, his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, unprecedented bombing of Syria by Israel… There are many factors that require the closest attention and in-depth study.

Today, terrorists have come to power in Syria, and the United States has supported them. Therefore, those who call Georgia to unrest are the enemies of our country. Yes, enemies! Just imagine for a moment that Russia announced that I no longer have an interest in the Caucasus and, in terms of the distribution of spheres of influence, I am ready to replace it with something else. You can be sure that in exactly five minutes we will be gone — we will turn into a Turkish vilayet. That is why Georgia is obliged to build its foreign policy in such a way that it will certainly be in the sphere of Russian interests and constantly be in it.

— In recent days, many people have been throwing up their hands and admit that they still have not been able to understand what, by and large, those who stand on the street are trying to achieve. You mentioned it. It is still unclear what the authorities want. How do you assess the situation when the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia defiantly left the hall of the OSCE Ministerial Hall after the floor was given to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov?

— Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable. In a country where the government openly distances itself from liberal politics, its minister has no right to behave like that, that is, to leave the hall during a speech by one of the world's leading diplomats.

We are receiving positive impulses from Russia. Sergey Lavrov, and not only he, has repeatedly stated that Russia is ready to start negotiations with Georgia. We certainly need to try to establish a dialogue with Russia, because we have no other way out. Our country has a 900-kilometer border with Russia. Basically, we are adjacent to the North Caucasus, and this region has always been considered problematic for Russians. The Russian Federation is not interested in having a country near its southern border that preaches liberalism and aspires to NATO. If Russia has not spared even fraternal Ukraine, then what awaits us under such circumstances? After all, she believes that Georgian territory poses a much greater danger to her than the territory of Ukraine.

The country's policy is formed and determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But what kind of policy can we talk about in circumstances when about 200 employees of the Georgian Foreign Ministry went on strike and joined the protesters?! None of them, as it turns out, worked for the benefit of Georgia, they were just biding their time. Those who were supposed to protect our interests and negotiate on our behalf turned out to be enemies of their country. Lawlessness reigns in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The year 2008 was significant for us in this sense and brought serious challenges: we were clearly shown that they could destroy us in just five days. However, we forgot about it, our memory turned out to be surprisingly short. The so—called opposition is an enemy of Georgia and Georgian statehood. She is ready to do everything to incite Russia against Georgia. This is the main idea and the main goal of our current oppositionists. That is why there is such confusion and uncertainty at rallies — they can't announce all this out loud.

If a country has been formed as a state, the government and the opposition always come to an agreement on issues of sacred, vital importance, such as, say, ethnic mobilization. Relatively speaking, a conflict with Russia could lead to the complete annexation of Georgia, and the genuine opposition should be well aware of this. Unfortunately, there are foreign agents operating in our country, not the opposition.

— A few days ago, Salome Zurabishvili visited France, where she met with the French President and the recently elected US President Trump. Upon her return, Emmanuel Macron called Bidzina Ivanishvili. What do you think they might have been talking about with each other? Maybe Zurabishvili is asking for guarantees to leave the country safely?

— The president should be a symbol of the state. He is obliged to act as a mediator, arbitrator… However, Salome Zurabishvili turned out to be a specific party to this conflict — she stood in opposition to her own country. The president is in opposition! This, it seems to me, has never happened anywhere else. In this sense, we deserve to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Zurabishvili's identity has been fully revealed, she has fully appeared as a latent agent of Western intelligence services whose task is to push Georgia against Russia.

I do not rule out that Macron's conversation with Ivanishvili really concerned Salome Zurabishvili. But she already belongs to the past of our country and will not be able to harm her anymore…

— However, such impunity allows each successive government not to limit itself without a twinge of conscience in actions that harm the state... shouldn't Salome Zurabishvili be punished?

— It is quite possible that Zurabishvili flew to France to discuss ways to her salvation. She is probably seeking guarantees. Her recent actions can be regarded as a criminal offense, high treason. In any normal country, she would have already been put on trial. Let's see what we do. A new president will be elected soon, and his inauguration will take place before the end of the year. I hope that after that we will find out exactly how Salome Zurabishvili thought about her future.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our police officers, emphasizing their loyalty to the Georgian state. I have no doubt that it is necessary to punish in the strictest way the person who gave the protesters and the press the names and surnames of law enforcement officers who faithfully defend their Homeland. It was a treacherous sacrifice of them! I am sure that it will not be particularly difficult for the investigation to figure out everything, because a very limited number of people have access to these lists, and it will not be so difficult to identify the culprit. A criminal case must be initiated against him.