A new initiative group has been launched in Georgia to prepare a legislative proposal aimed at protecting “traditional values” and other issues it considers part of the country’s national identity.
The initiators — actor Giorgi Shanidze, film director Giorgi Sikharulidze, and Batumi Theatre director Kote Mzhavia — announced the launch at a briefing at the Georgian Federation of Journalists on July 30, three days after MMA fighter Giorgi Kartvelishvili unveiled a similar movement to defend “values and traditions” and said its members would be ready to “go to prison if necessary.”
The newly formed group said its work will focus on preparing a legislative initative to ensure the “legal protection” of “the Georgian Orthodox Church, national heroes, Georgian language, historical heritage, and traditional values,” which it argued are increasingly being targeted in a process that “goes beyond the boundaries of healthy public debate and freedom of expression” and takes the form of “targeted insults, aggressive rhetoric, hate campaigns, and deepening social divisions.”
“This tendency poses a threat to public consensus, national unity and civic peace,” Shanidze said.
“Every individual’s freedom of expression is a fundamental value,” he added, “However, this right must not become a tool for insulting the sacred values and fundamental principles that form the historical, cultural and spiritual foundation of the country.”
Shanidze claimed that people acting on “foreign instructions” had brought Georgia close to an “open civil confrontation” between “the Georgian nation” and what he described as “externally funded, destructive, and controlled groups.” He warned that further escalation would harm “this small group” the most, claiming that the Georgian people stand alongside “Georgian identity and values,” and called for “responsible steps” and the resolution of existing problems through “legal and peaceful means.”
“Therefore, we are launching a consultation process involving lawyers, legal experts, historians, representatives of the arts and sports sectors, and all other interesterd public groups, in order to prepare a relevant legislative initiative that will ensure relevant legal protection for the Georgian Orthodox Church, national heroes, the Georgian language, historical heritage, and traditional values,” he said.
The group also called on Georgian government, parliament, and “relevant state institutions” to “actively engage in the process” and “begin discussions on legislative initiatives that will contribute to strengthening a culture of respect in society, protecting national identity, and maintaining social harmony.”
The announcement came three days after MMA fighter and pro-government figure Giorgi Kartvelishvili unveiled a similar movement and two days after he applied to register it as “National Generation” with the Public Registry. Kartvelishvili said the group would defend Georgian “values and traditions” against what he described as “foreign-funded” groups with a “pseudo-liberal ideology.” His remarks, including a pledge to “go to prison” if necessary, sparked backlash and concerns over the movement’s potential methods.
The two initiatives, which critics say are aligned with or backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, come amid an intensifying government crackdown on freedom of speech and expression in the country.
They came a week after stand-up comedian and anti-government protester Onise Okriashvili was assaulted over a joke in which he mentioned acclaimed 20th-century Georgian writer Nodar Dumbadze alongside profane language. As pro-government media launched a negative campaign against him, portraying the joke as an insult to Dumbadze, Okriashvili explained that it was not an insult but part of a hypothetical discussion illustrating the absurdity of such an insult. The attack followed the campaign. Although authorities arrested one attacker, he was released on bail.
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