Georgian Parliament Speaker criticises German Ambassador over silence on violence

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday criticised Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the country, for failing to condemn an attack on the Tbilisi election headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party, alleging that the Ambassador had recently expressed support for the same group responsible for the violence.

In a social media message, Papuashvili described the incident as a “fascist frenzy” and accused the Ambassador of violating diplomatic protocols.

“At the time when the German Ambassador was writing this post, the very same people whom he had met with a few days earlier and expressed support for were attacking the Georgian Dream election headquarters in Tbilisi, with fascist chants. He did not condemn this politically motivated violence, nor did he retract his support for this extremist group”, the Speaker said.

“Therefore, it is incorrect and untrue for the Ambassador to claim the opposite. Support by an accredited diplomat for extremist groups in the host country constitutes a gross violation of Article 41 of the Vienna Convention”, he concluded.

The remarks follow renewed protests on Tuesday outside the campaign headquarters of Tbilisi Mayor and ruling party candidate Kakha Kaladze. Demonstrators shouted insults, attempted to provoke staff inside the office, and damaged an election banner.

During the rally, members of radical groups also clashed with journalists from media outlets they considered unfavourable.