“Fascist rhetoric”: Georgian Parliament Speaker slams Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday strongly criticised Lithuanian Member of the European Parliament Rasa Juknevičienė, accusing her of making statements that verge on fascist rhetoric.

In a social media message, Papuashvili expressed deep concern over Juknevičienė's remarks, particularly her references to the Georgian people as “guilty” and the need to “stop the infection”.

He warned that such language, if left unchecked, could escalate to even more dehumanising terms, such as “slaves” or “biomass”.

“The statements by Rasa Juknevičienė have already come very close to the threshold of fascist statements - “the people are guilty”, “we must stop the infection”. If we look at the evolution of hate speech encouraged by her and her radical allies, then next time the Georgian people may be labeled as “slaves” or “biomass”, the Speaker said.

He urged European institutions to recognise the gravity of the situation.

“It is time for common sense to appear in Brussels, which will halt this disgraceful trend that disregards democracy and human dignity”, he added.

In a pointed remark directed at Juknevičienė, Papuashvili added - “You cannot hate an entire nation out of hatred for Stalin”.