The following trends were observed in May:

• Most of the xenophobic comments were directed against the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, Fady Asly, because of his opinion posted on his Facebook page. Emphasis was placed on Fady Asly’s origin and it was argued that foreign citizens have no right to express their opinion on the territorial integrity of Georgia. Other xenophobic statements were directed against migrants and Turks;

• Some of the homophobic statements were made by politicians, including Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who, during his visit to Hungary, spoke about the preservation of traditional identity and a threat to the institution of the family. Homophobic statements were also made by representatives of the Alliance of Patriots and the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info. In other homophobic statements, organizers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi as well as journalists from various media outlets were presented as “propagandists of homosexuality;”

• The anti-Western statements equated Georgia’s European integration process with the threat of losing its traditional identity and accused the West of imposing homosexuality. The pro-government editorial policy media, Imedi and POSTV, emphasized the rise in the number of homosexual young people as a result of homosexuality propaganda;

• The statements containing sexist hate speech were directed, in addition to female politicians from opposition parties, against President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili.

In May, most of the xenophobic comments were directed against the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, Fady Asly, because of a post he published on his Facebook page in which he asked what was better for Georgia - to live independently as part of the EU, without Russian-occupied regions, or to reunite the separatist regions and live in slavery to Russia. Emphasis was placed on Fady Asly’s origin and it was argued that foreign citizens have no right to express their opinion on the territorial integrity of Georgia. Other xenophobic statements were directed against migrants and Turks. In addition, the Turkophobic statement had geopolitical content, presenting Russia as the only force capable of containing Turkey’s influence in the region. 

Kakhi Kaladze, Georgian Dream: “This [Fady Asly’s statement] is a slave mentality, the mentality of agents. This person has no homeland, and of course I am not surprised by such statements. He is a person without a homeland… Let me reiterate: the most important thing for me as a Georgian born in this country is restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity.”

Nana Kakabadze, Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights: “And how he [Fady Asly] dares to speak about such painful national topics and issues of territorial integrity, this alien who has no relation to our internal politics and, in general, has no right whatsoever to express his stance on this issue at all. He is neither a citizen of Georgia nor a person who is distinguished for his great respect and love for Georgia… It is crystal clear that he expresses a stance that can be qualified as directed against the state of Georgia, i.e., an attitude tantamount to betrayal of the country…”

Zaza Shatirishvili, philosopher, progovernment expert: “A serious threat to European identity is posed by immigrational schemes through which authentic European populations are gradually being replaced by migrants from Asia and Africa… In the population of most major European cities, the number of foreign migrants exceeds the number of locals, which threatens Europe with a complete loss of its authentic face in the near future. Under the conditions of agentocracy, European societies do not have the resources to oppose this problem imposed on them from outside.”

Asaval-Dasavali, 15-21 May
Paata Abuladze, Georgian Dream: “As you probably know, Arab and Indian villages are being built here one after another, but for some reason, our liberasts are only sounding the alarm about Russians.”

Only Russia is capable of containing a threat coming from Turkey

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter at Sezoni TV: “It depends precisely on Russia whether Ajara and Guria will remain part of Georgia. If Russia gives the green light to Turkey, Turkey will instantly, within a minute, annex Ajara and Guria. Some people think it’s better to let Abkhazia and Samachablo go; do you, idiots, think that you will retain other territories? The war in 2008 was not yet over when Erdogan travelled to Moscow, thinking he would make a deal with Putin there, take Adjara and Guria, and in return help Putin, and Putin would agree; but Putin did not give Erdogan his consent to this.”

Some of the homophobic statements were made by politicians, including Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who, during his visit to Hungary, spoke about the preservation of traditional identity and a threat to the institution of the family. Homophobic statements were also made by pro-Kremlin political parties: the Alliance of Patriots, which referred to homosexuality as a disease, and the Alt-Info/Conservative Movement, which demanded the prohibition of “propaganda of homosexuality.” 

In other homophobic statements, organizers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi as well as journalists from various media outlets were presented as “propagandists of homosexuality.” Besides, like in previous times, the opinion was promoted that only the co-religious Russia was capable of defending the identity.

Irakli Garibashvili, Georgian Dream: “We also protect the rights of the majority, for whom the family is a union between a man and a woman; where a woman is a mother, and a man is a father... The absolute majority of our society shares traditional, conservative, family values. These values are not only the heritage of the past, but also the living present – the environment in which we grew up and want to raise our children… We will not support the minority’s attempts to change with aggressive propaganda the values, which the majority of our population considers to be given by God, on which the Georgian identity, uniqueness, and our entire history are based. Tolerance is our unique tradition. And, the threat is not the religion, minorities, or different opinion, but rather those, who are without faith or values, armed with cynicism, often in the name of religion, democracy, and freedom – actually opposing freedom and truth.”

Zaza Papuashvili, actor: “We will not reject God and will not start picking the right gender identity for him. For us, a woman will be a mother, and a man will again be called a father without any numbering and X and Y. For us, the family is and will remain a union between a man and a woman. We will not start to poison children and youth with perverted gender disciplines and indoctrinate them ideologically. We support life and reject the misanthropic agenda that reduces the birth rate and contributes to the disappearance of the Georgian nation.”

Homosexuality is a disease

Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Alliance of Patriots: “The World Health organization told us that LGBT, lesbianism, homosexuality, is not a disease; at the same time, there is another group of scientists [saying] that it exists in the form of genetic disease; an LGBT may have a genetic disease, it is a gene  disorder when a woman has qualities as well as a body of a man and vice versa, a man has those of a woman; there is also a psychological thing, a psychological change; there is also violence-based, genetic, and there are genetic things.”

Zurab Makharadze, Alt-Info/Conservative Movement: “We collected signatures in favor of banning LGBT propaganda, and we already submitted the law, but they [the parliament] postponed the consideration of the law once; let’s assume, they do not want to adopt our law – no problem, we do not care. Now there is information that Pridon Injia intends to initiate a similar law - we do not care at all who it will be credited to; the main thing is to have the law adopted. They can since they are the [parliamentary] majority, and let them adopt this law; did not they adopt the antidiscrimination law? I didn’t, they did.” 

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter for Sezoni TV: “Indeed, the time has come when we, people who are true to these ideas, should make sure that propaganda of LGBT filth is banned in schools, and also banned on TV channels, and that society becomes conservative…”

Asaval-Dasavali, 15-21 May
Giorgi Gigauri, journalist for Asaval-Dasavali: “After many attempts, a gay pride was finally held in Tbilisi. Although this faggot action took place not on Rustaveli Avenue but in the hall of Fashion Week, the fact remains that at the very time when the Prime Minister of Georgia was participating in an international forum of conservative forces in Budapest and talking about the protection of the family and traditional values, gays clad in dresses were parading down the catwalk at the event financed by Temur Chkonia.” 

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter for Sezoni TV: “Georgia was the sun of the Caucasus and this country has been turned into a brothel of the Caucasus. This is proved by a heartbreaking report I am going to offer you now, which concerns Coca-Cola; you may well be aware that Sopo Chkonia, the daughter of the Coca-Cola [manufacturing factory] owner, organized the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, a show of gays… Indeed, a father must kill himself when your child organizes such a show.”

Tristan Tsitelashvili, a military expert: “This [Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week] is a propaganda of depravity, and this propaganda of depravity should be punished in the country, the government should not allow the demonstration and propaganda of such things in the country. Now imagine what kind of country will be built when people with such a perverted mentality are brought to the forefront and given the opportunity to lead?”

Tristan Tsitelashvili, a military expert: “Day and night there should be talks that Abkhazia belongs to us, Samachablo belongs to us; the younger generation should be constantly reminded that these regions are a historical part of the country; work should be done on this and not on propaganda of LGBT and depravity that these bordello TV channels are engaged in.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter for Sezoni TV: “I cannot imagine how many times I have to criticize this public broadcaster, the First Channel, for what happens there. The head of this broadcaster is Tiko Berdzenishvili, and this lady, I think, is a woman of a different sexual orientation, because the channel broadcasts either lesbian films or gay propaganda films, and the head of the broadcaster who allows such films to be broadcast, I think, has these problems herself. Are you, madam, a lesbian yourself?”

Asaval-Dasavali, 29 May-4 June
Sergey Gavrilov, Member of the Federal Assembly of Russian Federation: “After the fall of Constantinople, Russia took over the function of defending Orthodox Christianity. Georgian people may not yet know that Russia is currently drafting and will soon adopt laws on the prohibition of sex reassignment and the promotion of homosexuality, which, along with the believers, are supported by Russian atheists, because everyone understands that otherwise the state, country, homeland, morality, and spirituality cannot be saved.”

Much like in the previous period, the anti-Western statements equated Georgia’s European integration process with the threat of losing its traditional identity and accused the West of imposing homosexuality. It should also be noted that the pro-government editorial policy media, Imedi and POSTV, emphasized the rise in the number of homosexual young people as a result of homosexuality propaganda.

EU candidate status/European integration = loss of traditional identity

Soso Manjavidze, ERI media, ERI Media, presenter of Gonieri: “Suppose, on the one hand, there is a prosperous area, say, socially prosperous, with material benefits, etc., the European economic area, and on the other hand, there is a requirement that in order to enter this area you must cede something that represents your main values - Christian values, they consider them unimportant things and think that when they demand it, it will go away.... There they tell you that in order to theoretically join something, to become a candidate for joining, you have to lose your spirit, that is, give up your values, that is, your faith and, to put it bluntly, become a pervert....”

Guram Macharashvili, People’s Power: “If we recognize Rustaveli, if we recognize Chavchavadze, if we recognize Erekle II, then we are regressive, and if that is the case, then of course there is no place for us there. When we are told that there is no place for conservatives in progressive Europe, and I am told that progressive Europe means: rejection of the king, rejection of the family, rejection of the sexual distinction between woman and man; when a child at home asks who he is, we should tell him not to ask whether he is a girl or a boy until he turns 18, that he will grow up and choose himself whether he is a girl or a boy. If that’s [progressive Europe], then of course we don’t belong there.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter for Sezoni TV: “By the way, a representative of the Bundestag arrived in Georgia and said that if steps are taken against LGBT ideology, our way to Europe will be closed. We do not need such a path at all, if we have to establish sodomy here, if we have to take the path of sodomy, this path will not lead us to the real temple... What has now been said in Budapest, this has to materialize into reality, and not a step backwards, but we have to go forward, because unfortunately the Europeans are demanding that we pass a perverted LGBT law, this is really not in our national interest.”

The West imposes homosexuality on us/promotes depravity

Dimitri Lortkipanidze, The Primakov Georgian-Russian Public Centre: “The government of Georgia, like the rest of our country, is under unthinkable pressure. This is because the juvenile dictatorship - awarding the power of guaranteed representation for the LGBTQ community in all branches of government - is not being fulfilled. The emphases placed by the Prime Minister in Hungary suggest that Georgia will fulfil the demand of the majority of its society.”

Dito Chubinidze, journslit for Asaval-Dasavali: “Our identity is being occupied. They (the West) have infiltrated everywhere as tormentors, and the occupation is taking place in every Georgian family, which is forced to bring up children not as our ancestors did, but in such a way that the father should be called the first parent and the mother the second parent, children should decide for themselves whether they are a boy or a girl, and whether to have plastic surgery to change their sex.”

Levan Gabashvili, journalist for Georgia and World: “This is how it will always be in Georgia: a woman will be called mother, a man will be called father, and their unity will be called family! - Garibashvili said in Hungary, and it was these words that were most fiercely criticized by the West, which said it was a homophobic statement. Do you realize what they forbid us to talk about and how they try to dub talking about father and mother as homophobic? They are brainwashing young people, preparing them to think that respecting mothers and fathers and talking about them is something “uncool,” that families cannot be traditional, that two fathers and two mothers are a usual thing, that everyone can raise a child.”

The US promotes LGBTQ topic in schools and preschool institutions in Ukraine

Luka Maisuradze, journalist for Georgia and World: “The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the American foundation signed a memorandum on Gender Sensitive Teaching Methods…. According to news-front.info, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the American charitable foundation, Arcus Foundation, have signed a memorandum of cooperation, according to which the Education Ministry and the American foundation will cooperate in introducing Gender Sensitive Teaching Methods in kindergartens and schools in Ukraine. The American foundation intends to provide the Kyiv regime with thematic methodological educational program for preschool institution and schools. They will also provide scientific materials and toy sets. It is clear, what the organization protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ community will teach Ukrainian children.” 

The number of homosexual young people has increased in the USA due as a result of propaganda

Levan Javakhishvili, presenter of Qronika on Imedi TV: “Let me now present a few highlights from a Gallup poll that has once again caused a segment of society in the United States to think about the future of their children. According to the poll, the rate of youth and adults identifying with the LGBT community has doubled in the last decade. Questions have already arisen as to whether this is a result of discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation topics with children in schools.”

Zviad Avaliani, presenter for POSTV: “Obviously, there is aggressive propaganda that particularly affects adolescents and young people. Thus, according to a recent study conducted in the USA, the largest number of people identifying themselves with the LGBTQ community was found among the younger, so-called GenZ age group, which indicates the influence of propaganda on people’s self-identification, since if it were biologically determined only, there should be no difference between generations.”

Targets of sexist comments were female politicians from opposition parties as well as President of Georgia.

Criticism on the ground of gender stereotypes

Offence/ridicule on the ground of appearance

Dito Chubinidze, journalist for Asaval-Dasavali: “This woman cannot be given such freedom; she is clearly an agent, this Khoshtaria woman! Look, when she puts on a jacket, I cannot perceive her as a woman. I have just said that she reminds me of Kosygin, exactly. And her activities must be scrutinized. Don’t you know who she is? Deal with her before it is too not late!”

Antifeminism/misogyny

Grisha Oniani, Stalin Society: “… This is how Georgia mourned the remains of the unknown soldier and his grave, and this woman, this shame of Georgia, shame, Menshevik’s scum, this someone, says that we should dig it up and bury others there, bury those who fought against our country.... That’s the kind of president we have, and if our government shares her opinion, then the things are too bad both here and there.”

Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, presenter for Sezoni TV: “… Another scheme: Georgian special-unit-fascist-feminist groups undress themselves, get naked and “Stop Putin” and Abkhazia and Samachablo will be instantly returned to Georgia.”