"The time for symbolic acts is over"

Strategic message from the "For Change" coalition to London, Brussels and Washington – What internal evidence and external expectations exist?

Context and the four demands of the coalition

The "For Change" coalition has addressed an open letter to international partners and formulated four demands.

1. Imposition of personalized sanctions against members of the "Georgian Dream".

   
   

2. Adoption of the MEGOBARI Act.

   
   

3. Termination of any political and financial involvement with the regime.

   
   

4. Public recognition of Georgia’s democratic opposition, civil society, and President Salome Zourabishvili as the legitimate representatives of the Georgian people’s European will.

The statement is addressed to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The open letter is published at a time when all four leaders of the coalition are in custody at different times; it is also noteworthy that the Georgian Dream Prosecution Service has launched new investigations against them following their arrests.

These four demands serve as a guide for the West's political perspective on Georgia, says Giga Lemonjava, one of the coalition members, in a detailed interview with tiflis24.de. To develop a more concrete perspective, Lemonjava, in our conversation, names not only the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his Prime Minister Kobakhidze, but also specific individuals about whom Western partners in Georgia have received information regarding serious violations. This, Lemonjava explains, provides the West with a legal and political basis to impose sanctions on these individuals. In the interview, he also outlines the evidence, data, and facts the coalition has collected and what Georgia's strategic allies already know about it.

Whether the coalition's public statement will remain merely another open appeal, as Georgian society has heard many times before, or whether it will elicit concrete reactions from its Western partners – only time will tell. Until then, however, we have tried to find out what these new open demands from the "For Change" coalition might be related to and what lies behind them.

“These four points are not episodes, but a comprehensive political vision”

Tiflis24: Why was it necessary to address the international partners with an open letter – and what reaction do you expect?

Giga Lemonjava: These four points we mentioned in the open letter are not simply isolated demands, but rather our understanding of what the political view of the USA, Great Britain and the European Union should be regarding Georgia.

In European capitals and the US, there is a roughly similar perspective, but it is not comprehensive. Therefore, it does not lead to the outcome that international sanctions are usually intended to achieve. If sanctions are imposed only episodically, it is naturally difficult to achieve a result. However, if these sanctions are part of a unified political vision, they will inevitably have an effect.

At the same time, it is important that pressure be exerted on the regime as quickly as possible. Unlike Lukashenko's regime, Ivanishvili's regime remains vulnerable to international sanctions. One piece of evidence for this is the statistic that Ivanishvili has either removed or demoted, essentially "hidden," 78% of sanctioned security officials from their posts. This indicates that international sanctions are having an effect. Another example of this was the recent dismissal of the sanctioned deputy interior minister in recent days.

"The existing sanctions against Ivanishvili are insufficient"

Tiflis24: In your open appeal, you call for personalized sanctions to be imposed on Ivanishvili, Kobakhidze, and other officials. Can you explain in more detail which individuals you mean and what kind of sanctions you are calling for?

Giga Lemonjava: We believe that the personalized sanctions imposed on Bidzina Ivanishvili are insufficient. Ivanishvili needs to face severe financial sanctions, not just restrictions on his freedom of movement to certain countries, because what matters most to him is money.

The important thing is:

First, the US has already imposed financial restrictions on Ivanishvili. It is important that the same happens in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Secondly, it's about imposing secondary sanctions – any kind of business relationship with companies owned by Ivanishvili, whether it's entering into contracts or conducting transactions, must be subject to sanctions. Secondary sanctions make business activity impossible. Such sanctions currently don't exist in the US or the European Union – for example, in France, where Ivanishvili actually wields financial influence; there, neither primary nor secondary sanctions exist.

Ivanishvili's regime rests on three main pillars: black money, propaganda, and a violent machine in the form of the Ministry of the Interior.

Sanctioning the owners of propaganda media outlets is of paramount importance. This primarily concerns Irakli Rukhadze, who openly states that he faces no international sanctions. However, due to his business activities, he is extremely vulnerable to financial sanctions imposed by the US and the UK.

Most sanctions so far have been imposed on representatives of the Ministry of the Interior who use violence against peaceful protests, but this is not sufficient; the sanctioning of those who use violence must continue.

The sanctioning of Irakli Kobakhidze is legally sound and politically correct. Personalized sanctions are based on the following legal grounds: gross violations of human rights, undermining of democracy, and actions against Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic future, carried out within the framework of harmful Russian influence operations – that is, cooperation with a hostile state. Kobakhidze bears personal responsibility in all three areas.

There are individuals who support the regime with funds acquired through corrupt means. These funds fuel Ivanishvili's violent machinery. We have been sharing information about these individuals with our international partners since 2022. All of this information is based on facts, analyzed by qualified experts.

“Petrogaz, Chkhartishvili and the circumvention of Russian sanctions”

Tiflis24: Which specific people and facts are you informing your international partners about?

Giga Lemonjava: For example , Ivane Chkhartishvili is involved in several cases. These include creating schemes to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russia and using Georgian territory to minimize the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia for its war of aggression in Ukraine. In this context, there is concrete evidence of the circumvention of sanctions against Russian oil and its sale, for which Georgian territory is being used.

There is the company "Petrogaz," in which Ivane Chkhartishvili is a partner, and which is responsible for exchanging such strategic products while circumventing international sanctions. Hundreds of pages of documents have been submitted to international partners; these are not political accusations.

The same applies, for example, to Davit Khidasheli and Ucha Mamatsashvili , on whom Ivanishvili's financial system is based.

"Sanctions are a political decision – our information is an additional lever"

Tiflis24: If you have been working with your partners since 2022 and providing them with expert-prepared evidence of serious violations, why have no comprehensive sanctions been imposed to date?

Giga Lemonjava: Although we've been working on this issue since 2022, sanctions don't depend solely on this. There are countries that send no materials whatsoever, yet many sanctions are still imposed. There are countries where there is no opposition left at all, or where the opposition has already fled the country – and yet the international partners investigate the matters themselves. What we do, therefore, is an additional lever to ensure that the partners receive as much information as possible.

The imposition of sanctions is a highly political decision. There may be a legal basis, but a particular state or international organization may still believe that applying sanctions is not appropriate.

If our partners see that there is a strong front in Georgia fighting for freedom and resisting, the likelihood of sanctions being imposed will naturally be significantly higher.

Our open letter aims to explain that the Ivanishvili regime is concerned by international sanctions. Internationally, there are people—albeit a minority—who wield influence in decision-making processes and believe that sanctions are not decisive. It is important for them to understand that, unlike the Lukashenko regime, Ivanishvili is highly sensitive to sanctions because his political existence depends on money: both his own and the funds he siphons from the state budget. With this letter, we want to explain to our partners that time is of the essence and that we need these sanctions now to prevent the regime's collapse from being halted, but rather exacerbated.

"The era of symbolic acts is over"

Tiflis24:  In your appeal, you write, "The time for symbolic actions has passed." Can one detect a certain disappointment in your statement?

Giga Lemonjava: No, that's not the sentiment conveyed in this text. Its message is that the time for mere explanations and low-threshold, personalized sanctions—such as imposing travel restrictions to individual countries—is over. Now is the time to impose severe financial sanctions to which the regime is vulnerable. Secondary financial sanctions, for example, would cripple Ivanishvili's financial resources, thus reducing the number of people he could use against Georgia.

Communication with Western partners

Tiflis24: At what level does your communication with the USA and our Western partners take place?

Giga Lemonjava: Communication takes place at both the legislative and executive levels in the US, the UK, and the EU member states. Furthermore, I have personally dealt with those specialist organizations working on Georgia and sanctions; their documents are becoming key documents. I cannot say exactly who is speaking with our Western partners.

“We should expect additional sanctions from Great Britain and the EU”

Tiflis24:  What answers do you receive in individual communication and confidential meetings with partners when it comes to imposing international sanctions?

Giga Lemonjava: Regarding individual communication with international partners, I think we should expect additional sanctions from the United Kingdom and EU member states in the near future. In my view, it's possible that sanctions will be imposed against both propagandists and those responsible for the usurpation of the state. Unfortunately, it's not possible to discuss more specific details or say anything concrete.