Georgian PM says global events “underscore imperative” of “safeguarding centuries-old traditions, national identity”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday said “recent and anticipated global developments” underscored the “imperative to further fortify our efforts in safeguarding our centuries-old traditions and national identity”.

Addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary’s capital city of Budapest, Kobakhidze said the world order was “experiencing profound shifts”, with the evolving international landscape demanding a “coordinated response”.

“Through collaborative action, we can actively contribute to fostering positive developments in defence of our shared values. Therefore, I would like to thank you for organising today's conference, which offers us a valuable platform to discuss our common perspectives”, Kobakhidze told those in attendance.

The PM further claimed “uncontrolled migration” posed the “greatest threat to the national identity” of European countries, and further alleged that “if the processes continue at the current pace, the local population in many European countries will very soon be a minority”.

The so-called liberals fight against Christianity with particular enthusiasm. The only difference between the so-called liberals and the Bolsheviks is that the latter used sledgehammer as their main weapon in the fight against religion, while the liberals fight against Christianity with propaganda, which, under the conditions of total control of the media, has much stronger power than the sledgehammer”, he claimed.

“Today, the Georgian Orthodox Church is a prime target of their attack in Georgia. A couple of days ago, the Georgian so-called liberals even tried to change the concept of national identity of Georgia and replaced the words ‘homeland, language, religion’ with the words ‘homeland, language, unity’. They just removed the word religion from the identity of our nation”, Kobakhidze continued.

He also alleged the “concept of so-called liberals” involved an idea that “even an individual should not have any solid identity and there should not be any moral limits in personal life”.

This propaganda has disturbing consequences in both Europe and the United States. As sociological studies and surveys confirm, about 20 percent of the 18- to 25-year-old population declares itself as LGBT in the United States and a majority of European countries. This indicator is three times less among people aged between 26 and 32, which means that propaganda has tripled the number of LGBT people in just seven years”, the PM claimed.

“According to the position of so-called liberals, a person should not have a fixed gender identity and should choose his or her own gender at any stage of life. Even a child should have the right to choose and change a gender. For the so-called liberals, it is unacceptable to use terms like woman and man or mother and father”, he told the audience.

Kobakhidze also said a “few decades ago, no one could have imagined that we would have to seriously discuss such issues in the civilised world”.

“However, the fact is that today not only serious discussions are held on these topics, but everyone who expresses the opposite position becomes an object of intimidation, just as the Bolsheviks intimidated intellectuals and clergy in the past”, he alleged.

The Government head claimed the “so-called liberals” who were “using freedom as a cover-up” were the “most intolerant of human rights, especially freedom of speech and expression”.

“This approach extends to the liberalisation campaign on drug policy, actively advocated by the so-called liberals, also in Georgia. The promotion of drugs aims to strip individuals of their critical thinking and values, reducing them to mere subjects devoid of moral compass”, he told the Conference.

The so-called liberals also fight against such an important pillar of the country's identity as state sovereignty. If the processes went in the direction in which they are still going, state sovereignty will soon be even formally declared to be the same unacceptable value as the national and religious identity of the country is declared nowadays”, Kobakhidze said.

He also said Georgia had “successfully managed to protect both its national and religious identity and traditional values”, but further added “we also face the most difficult challenges as the so-called liberals are actively trying to spread their ideology in Georgian society and undermine the foundations of the state and society”.

“In response to these challenges, we in the Parliament of Georgia initiated a draft of constitutional amendments aimed at protecting family values and the interests of minors. The draft law prohibits the legalisation of same-sex civil partnership, the adoption of a minor by a same-sex or polygamous couple, changing a person's sex, entering any other gender than male and female in an identity document, as well as popularisation of the same-sex family or intimate relationships, incest, adoption of a child by a same-sex couple and promotion of gender reassignment”, Kobakhidze said.

He told the event he hoped the domestic legislative changes would “successfully oppose the so-called liberal ideology” and make a “significant contribution to the protection of family values and minors”.