Oqitashvili Asks Questions About Madinaradze and Rukhadze's Contribution to 2012 Victory

Davit Oqitashvili, head of the "Culture Palace", criticizes former Georgian Dream leaders Mamuka Madinaradze and Tika Rukhadze on social media. According to him, he is interested in what specific contribution they had to the victory of October 1, 2012.

In a lengthy post published on Facebook, Oqitashvili writes that some supporters of Rukhadze and Madinaradze, including anonymous accounts active on social media, repeat claims that he "slandered" them. He states that, despite the "hysteria of bots and trolls", he will not stop asking questions.

According to him, the public, including himself, has a number of serious questions about Rukhadze's work at the Ministry of Culture. He sharply criticizes Madinaradze's political activity and his role in processes taking place within Georgian Dream. He says his political assessments of them have not changed.

Oqitashvili addressed Rukhadze directly and asked why many people and artists blame her for numerous unfair decisions made during her tenure. According to him, Rukhadze must give an answer, because she is damaging the image of "Georgian Dream" by doing so. In the post, he also writes that it is good that information about the costs of the Patriarchate's funeral of Ilia II has finally been made public.

Oqitashvili notes that October 1, 2012 was a day of years of struggle, resistance, faith and a great political victory for him and many people. According to him, this victory does not belong to those who later ended up in high government positions and now try to create their own version of the history of the struggle. He thanked Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family.

Finally, Oqitashvili said he is interested in facts, contracts, cost estimates, budget operations and the responsibility of decision-makers. He reminded opponents of a well-known saying, often attributed to Chinese wisdom: "Sit by the river and wait, and one day the corpse of your enemy will float by." He said that he sees a political metaphor in this saying and not a wish for harm to anyone. "In politics, sometimes the strongest response is time", he writes.