The participation of politicians from NATO countries in anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi is a hostile move aimed at overthrowing the Georgian government, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said.
The Parliament Speaker made the statement on Wednesday when the Foreign Ministers of Iceland, Lithuania and Estonia took part in a demonstration against the recently adopted law on “foreign agents.” The ministers, who travelled to Tbilisi to discuss the controversial law with the country’s government, later addressed a crowd of protesters outside parliament.
Papuashvili wrote in a post published on Thursday on X:
Speaking in front of a demonstration of exalted youth led by radical anti-government opposition parties and calling them “all the people” is something (…) one would not expect from the foreign minister of an EU member state. Some in the governments of our Baltic partners got too carried away with their own rhetoric.
Papuashvili recalled that the Georgian government has demonstrated commitment to European and Euro-Atlantic values and policies, adding that “now that the prospect of NATO membership is becoming less and less realistic against the backdrop of regional geopolitical upheavals, Georgia has to cope with serious external challenges largely on its own.”
He referred to the “unaccountable foreign money” that he said was flowing freely into Georgia’s political system, including radical groups, and also added that new legislation on transparency of foreign influence could solve this problem.
“For foreign dignitaries to join these protests in blatant disregard of Georgia’s sovereignty and diplomatic practices in the name of “democracy and human rights” is hypocrisy at best and subversion at worst,” Papuashvili concluded.
Passing a controversial law
Georgia’s parliament passed a law on foreign agents in its third and final reading on Tuesday, despite massive street protests and criticism from Western governments.
The bill, officially titled “On Transparency of Foreign Influence,” obliges Georgian non-profit organisations, media outlets and individuals who receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register as organisations “promoting the interests of a foreign power” and to disclose information about their income and donors. Failure to do so would be punishable by a fine of up to $9,500.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili expressed support for the protesters and promised to veto the bill. However, the move would be largely symbolic, as a simple majority vote in parliament could override a presidential veto.
The US and EU have criticised the proposal, saying it would make the work of many foreign NGOs more difficult. Brussels has warned Tbilisi that it could lose its EU candidate status if the bill passes.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, says the new bill is necessary to protect the country from foreign-funded protests, radical political parties and propaganda media.
