Georgian Parliament Speaker decries paradox of “EU-flagged violence” in country

Amid growing concerns about the lack of accountability in the spending of foreign donor funds, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said legislative regulation remained the only viable solution to ensuring transparency.

In his speech during the presentation of the Parliament’s annual report, Papuashvili noted that the transparency law and the reactions it elicited served as a “litmus test”, revealing significant foreign influence in Georgian political processes.

“It is unacceptable for any state to spend millions of dollars to influence a foreign society's life while concealing how and why those funds are being spent. Such a patronising attitude towards another country, rooted in the Third World and banana republic mentality, belongs to the 20th century”, the Speaker said.

He further argued that in 2023, foreign politicians and donors directly took over the reins of revolutionary movements within the country.

“The law on transparency [of foreign influence] and the events surrounding it played the role of a litmus test. In 2023, foreign politicians and donors directly took over the reins of the revolutionary movement. That is why one of the [foreign] ambassadors called the Georgian transparency law a Russian law, that is why they portrayed a person who tried to burn another person with a Molotov cocktail as a hero, that is why they portrayed stone-throwing as peace, and the arrest of a stone-thrower as war”, he continued.

Papuashvili stressed that just as Molotov cocktails were alien to Georgian society, so was the notion of surrendering the nation’s fate to foreign curators.

The Speaker further added that in 2023, all foreign or domestic actors who could have influenced the parliamentary elections were identified and exposed.

“That's why, in 2024, we went through an election campaign, amidst unprecedented foreign interference”, he noted.

He further noted that the Georgian Dream party was told that the parliamentary elections would be the final battle, the referendum.

“Fortunately, the Georgian nation, with its lessons of history and deep civilisational memory, the vast majority of voters saw exactly where the truth, righteousness, and the true interest of the country were. They saw it and made the correct choice”, he added.

He also expressed concern over the polarisation imposed by foreign entities, noting the paradox of violence being associated with the European Union flag.

“We faced the paradox of violence wrapped in an EU flag marching through our streets. In such circumstances, the formula for victory is unity, resolve, and belief in your country, your people, and your history. And we won that decisive battle. [...] The reunification of the country and the well-being of each of our citizens are our two most important national tasks, all other goals, intentions and aspirations will be measured by these two standards. May God be our protector in this matter”, he concluded.