Georgian Opposition Reacts to Missed Candidacy

The European Council (EUCO) yesterday made its final decision granting European Union candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, albeit with certain conditions, while giving European perspective to Georgia, with the country required to fulfill conditions before being granted candidate status.

Below is a compilation of some of the reactions from opposition politicians to the decision: 

Nika Melia, United National Movement: “In the 20th century Georgia freed itself twice from the Russian empire – 1918 and 1991. Since then our country has been trying to walk the path from independence to freedom. We made a mistake and chose the one who should not have been chosen. But similar mistakes have been made by others, European peoples with greater experience in democracy and a long tradition of independence, who corrected those mistakes themselves. This will happen in Georgia too! Tomorrow, 24 June, 20:00!”

Giorgi Vashadze, Strategy Aghmashenebeli: “The decision has been made, no one else can do what we have to do! Unfortunately, Georgian Dream does not plan to carry out reforms! If we want to use this historic chance and receive EU candidate status, we must act! Therefore, it is necessary to gather tomorrow the 24th, at 20:00 on Rustaveli, and take care of the task ahead! Time is short!

Mamuka Khazaradze, Lelo for Georgia: “This government cannot take us into the EU, this is a fact. So what this plan looks like, will be agreed on with the community whose faces we saw on Rustaveli a few days ago. It is precisely in consultation with them that we will establish a plan which will be made public, and this plan will be for one goal and one goal only, to bring Georgia into the EU and meet the 12 points which are the key to becoming a member of the EU.”

Zurab Japaridze, Girchi – More Freedom: “We missed our historic chance. Ukraine and Moldova received candidate status, Georgia – could not. If you think that this is someone’s fault, other than the one person who has been controlling everything here for 10 years – you are a fool. If you think that this happened accidentally and are maintaining even a 0.00000000001% chance that this will be corrected and the descent will not continue – you are a fool. [Bidzina] Ivanishvili’s oligarchy and this country’s Western future, in the free world – are incompatible. Europe told us this. Tomorrow, 20:00 o’clock on Rustaveli!”

Iago Khvichia, New Political Center – Girchi: “They gave us one fundamental critique, on which all other critiques stand – this is, you must end the one-person rule and that people who are under one-person’s rule have no place in Europe. We owe it to ourselves to look this bitter truth in the eye and correct it. The Georgian people spent 30 years on all this and 30 years later they coldly rejected us. The Georgian political spectrum is disorganized and practically has no concrete plan for what the country will be like after the Georgian Dream leaves power. We want to somehow convince the Georgian political and civil spectrum of the need for this. If this is successful, we will see a chance only then that something will change in this country.”

Shalva Natelashvili, Georgian Labour: “… Let’s be direct that the authorities, Ivanishvili’s regime, did everything for this decision – candidate status not being granted – to be achieved. Every political repression, every insulting statement was meant for this. No one should say that they did not know this, they knew this very well… It is because they knew this very well and did it consciously, that they will soon understand the response of the Georgian people and the whole world will see the kind of people we are when it comes to fighting for freedom and democracy.”

Nino Goguadze, Droa: “Oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government is the main blockade to Georgia’s European path. Therefore, we must all realize that, first of all, we must gain the opportunity to hold fair elections peacefully and make this government leave through elections.”

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