Ruling party Sec Gen defends foreign funding rule - Gov't approval necessary, correct

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said that the proposed legislative amendment requiring Government approval for receiving foreign grants was aimed at preventing attempts to stage revolutions in the country.

In his remarks, Kaladze claimed that the deep state would seek new ways to channel money into the country to support coup attempts.

“This decision became necessary due to numerous attempts in recent years to stage revolutions in this country. Some non-governmental organisations were receiving funds non-transparently. It was disguised. I’ll give one specific example: there was a case where training sessions, supposedly aimed at raising awareness among parents of children with severe illnesses, were in fact about how to stage a coup d’état. If I’m not mistaken, it was related to CANVAS [organisation]. I don’t want to be inaccurate, but this is absolutely unacceptable. Therefore, receiving funds from abroad without Government approval will no longer be possible, and I believe this is the right decision”, the ruling party official said.

“With regard to receiving funds, it’s no longer possible to bring in money from USAID or NED, but the deep state will find new ways to channel funds into the country to support coup attempts. You know the deep state has not yet been defeated. It exists and has deep roots not only in our country but across the world. We started talking about this quite early. Many didn’t believe it, but the US President declared defeating the deep state as a priority, and we’ll see how far he goes with that promise”, Kaladze concluded.