Why Georgian Dream Attacks Shovi Survivors - Expert Interview

- The leader of Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze labeled the accounts of Shovi disaster survivors, including that of Davit Jeladze, flagrant lies, and speculation. Jeladze recounts that they spent at least 4 hours stranded in the mudslide, and the rescue operation started late. In an interview with Mountain Stories, he described how he, crawling and half-buried in mud, had to carry one of his nieces, 6-year-old Masho, from the center of the flooded area to a relatively safe place. Can this be a deliberate effort by Kobakhidze to silence those who experienced this crisis first-hand and to conceal the government’s delayed response, so that others do not speak up?

- Of course, this is a completely targeted statement of Irakli Kobakhidze which in this case, speaks for the government as a whole. Through Irakli Kobakhidze’s words, the government is trying to completely avoid responsibility and move the emphasis on the insurmountability of the forces of nature. If we were dealing with a different type of event, Kobakhidze would inevitably switch to his usual gear and direct blame toward the opposition, civil society, and socially active groups, but in this case, it wouldn’t make sense. No one else could have intervened in avoiding or responding to this tragedy but the government. This is a pathetic attempt, as there are eyewitnesses, there are testimonies of the people. It will be very hard to evade responsibility here. The evidence that the response was not timely will only keep mounting.

Let’s recall yesterday’s statement from the Minister of Internal Affairs. I don’t know what to call that, incredibly unprofessional and inhumane. The minister said that we have the capability to conduct night flights, but it was not necessary, so we didn’t use it. Such an incompetent statement from one of the main representatives of the government is just shocking. It illustrates the botched job of the government. It can be said that Gomelauri gave away the government. The population sees this and the government will have to take responsibility for this tragedy.

- What other aims can Kobakhidze and the ruling party have, on one hand, in relation to the survivors, and on the other, the society? For example, for the victims not to start a legal dispute and the case to be closed quickly, leave the society in an informational vacuum…

- The government wants to silence them, so they stop voicing accounts that implicate the government. But these people came face to face with death, how can you scare them, how can they be intimidated?! These people endured such a thing, faced such a thing, that compared to that, getting scared of the government seems ridiculous. I don’t think the government’s intimidation attempts will work on these people, although there most likely is such intention.

The main purpose of these propagandist statements of the government is to convince the public that they are completely faultless in this story and that it is impossible to overcome such a devastating force of nature, but it fails.

They want to completely avoid responsibility, but it will not work. Kobakhidze is trying to whitewash the government.

- Even during this tragedy, the government did not refrain from retribution in the spirit of Russian law on “foreign agents”. Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili accused us of spreading disinformation, sowing panic, and sabotage. He added that part of the responsibility lies on donors and urged them to think carefully. When 25 bodies have been found and 8 are still missing, when independent specialists are telling us that there are similar threats in other regions, how do they find time to attack independent media and civil organizations; what drives them?

- The government is afraid of those people or organizations that spread objective information and expert opinions about the tragedy, which further underscores the culpability and criminal misconduct of the government.

If the government wants to muzzle anyone, it is these people. Obviously, it will not be able to silence them. Therefore, it tries to marginalize and discredit them. That's what explains the intensified attack. The government is on the wrong side of the truth, therefore, it is attempting to throw shade on those who speak the truth; this is what we are seeing. The government will have to answer to the media, experts, and finally, the general public.

- The government still hasn’t swallowed that they were forced to drop the Russian-sourced law on “foreign agents.” What they couldn’t achieve directly and turn into a law, something they had an insatiable desire for, they are now trying to introduce through the back door. The term “agent of foreign influence” constantly comes up in the government’s communication with the public, as a derogatory, discriminatory word promoting marginalization of civil society. The government failed to institutionally adopt the ‘’Russian law,’’ which is a great victory, of great importance for the preservation of democracy, but it keeps using this term in its messages and communication strategy. This once again shows us how serious the government's intention was, and what consequences it would bring for Georgian democracy, had this bill become law.

- How is the government managing this crisis? What impact could the consequences of the Shovi tragedy have on the ruling party?

- The government’s narrative is that an overwhelming force of nature has occurred, against which humans are but powerless. So, don’t question the government, these things happen. They showed natural disasters in other countries over state-affiliated channels, implying that it happens everywhere, it is the bitter reality, and so on.

It wants to turn Shovi tragedy into an example of man’s powerlessness against nature. This won’t work for the government. Of course, natural disasters happen, but there are damage limitation practices, which essentially depend on the capacity and effectiveness of the state.

Humans can prepare for a natural cataclysm, mitigate the destructive consequences, and the government is chiefly responsible for this.

- What kind of responsibility do you have in mind? An investigation has been launched [on paper], nothing of which should be expected given the established practices.

- We all know what’s going to come out of this investigation, as so many times before – the authorities did everything in their power, but the natural disaster was unavoidable. The government will not assemble a parliamentary investigative commission, which is well within its power. They control the majority, which will not vote for the creation of such a commission and will thwart it. However,

The government’s intentions are one thing, the other is how the attitude of society towards the government will be affected by these events. I think the government will not succeed in convincing the majority of the public that there was nothing it could have done to temper the consequences of this tragedy.

Whether these events will reduce the political weight of the government, speaking in terms of politics, I cannot speak to that. The results of the public opinion poll will give us an answer to this in the future. It is difficult to say to what extent will this be damaging to the government, but it will undeniably hurt them in some amount.

- The Minister of Internal Affairs showed up in the disaster zone 11 days after the tragedy. Earlier, the chairman of the parliament said that the family member of the minister was sick. Yesterday, Vakhtang Gomelauri said that his father is seriously ill and he was tending to him in the hospital in Turkey. Considering the scale of the tragedy, and that the minister’s direct duty is to immediately respond to the crisis and gather evidence for investigation, how convincing to you was the reason he gave, and how justified?

- It is not convincing. We are talking about one of the first persons in the government, who has access to specialized equipment, which can be used to travel quickly. How could he not find a few-hour window to visit the scene of the tragedy and then go back? Or if the situation was so critical, why was the announcement not made earlier? Why didn't the minister say in the first hours that he won't be able to arrive? How can you be making a statement about it 11 days after the tragedy? I think the public sees that too. The Prime Minister also arrived in Oni the next day. His visit was also belated. The responsible authorities should have arrived at the scene of the tragedy in a matter of hours.

- On August 3, they were celebrating the 8th anniversary of the State Security Service.

- Yes, I know.

- The Prime Minister circled around the disaster area in a helicopter, he did not even meet with the family members of the dead and missing at the entrance of Shovi.

- Any circumstance where the government feels its own responsibility is a source of discomfort for them, and they wish to avoid it at any cost. I will say again, it is very difficult to evade responsibility in the face of such a truly horrific tragedy. The government tries this relentlessly, but they will fail. At the very least, it will be very difficult.