We Will Not Allow the Abuse of Majority by Minority – Garibashvili’s Homophobic Address

Irakli Garibashvili’s speech on May 4, in Hungary went on for about 20 minutes and centered around traditional, family, and conservative values. His speech contained homophobic subtext.

“Loyalty to traditions does not mean that we should deny progressive changes, but we know full well that evil often comes in the name of positive change,” said Garibashvil, quoting Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II. “Our patriarch said that freedom is being fought in the name of false freedom. Yes, it indeed is. No one fights for freedom in the name of slavery, but false freedom; No one opposes the truth in the name of a lie but in the name of false truth.

How do actors that oppose freedom and truth try to achieve their goals? It is through the destruction of traditional, family values ​​and professing false freedom, LGBT propaganda, attempts to legalize gender change for minor children bypassing their parents, and enforcing these so-called changes, which distance people from their roots, family, tradition, culture, and history. It is easy to manipulate a person who is alienated from his history, faith, and roots. That's why, in such difficult times, our main weapons and pillars are traditional, Christian, family, and conservative values,” stated Garibashvili.

According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, his government respects the rights of each citizen, exemplified by the adoption of the anti-discrimination law in 2014.

“But we also protect the rights of the majority, for whom the family is a union between a woman and a man - the mother is a woman and the father is a man. The vast majority of our society shares traditional, conservative, family values. These values ​​are not only the heritage from the past, they are the living present, the environment in which we grew up and want to raise our children. I am a father of four children and together with the majority of Georgian parents, I want our future generations to be raised on unique values ​​based on Christianity, the way our parents raised us,” said the Prime Minister of Georgia.

In his speech, Garibashvili also praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and said that “Hungarian people are very lucky to have such a wise and far-sighted national leader in this difficult era.” According to Irakli Garibashvili, Orban, who has been the Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010, stands on the guard of fundamental values and is an exemplary politician and a fighting Christian.

This year, Hungary is hosting the international conference of right-wing and ultra-right politicians for the second time in a row. As Orbán said during his speech, Hungary has become an incubator for conservative politics. “We have stopped migration at our borders, ended promoting gender propaganda in schools, and are working tirelessly for peace. This is the medicine against the progressive-liberal virus,” he said.

Garibashvili was criticized by European parliamentarians for his participation in the conference, and the Party of European Socialists decided to review the partnership established in 2015 with the Georgian Dream.

Irakli Garibashvili spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at a time when Georgia is awaiting the status of a candidate country for the European Union.

Strengthening the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups is among the 12 conditions defined by the European Commission, which Georgia must fulfill by the end of the year to be granted the status. According to the assessment of non-governmental organizations, the mentioned condition remains unfulfilled - after the failure of the attempt to adopt the law on “transparency of foreign influence”, the leaders of Georgian Dream began to use anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric, so far the organizers of violence on July 5, 2021, have not been brought to justice.