Georgian Parliament Speaker urges EU to follow US administration in rejecting radicalism

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday responded to US President Donald Trump’s announcement declaring the American radical group Antifa a terrorist organisation and launching an investigation into its funding networks.

In a social media message, Papuashvili said the move was showing that “the ideology of radicalism, nurtured by previous administrations in the United States, is being cut off at its roots”.

He added that the same ideology had extended into other countries, including Georgia, but is now nearing its end.

“What does President Donald Trump’s decision to label Antifa as a terrorist organisation and investigate its funding reveal? It shows that the ideological currents of radicalism, long fostered under previous administrations, are being curtailed. The ripple effects of this ideology are reaching other nations, including Georgia. Radicalism is unstoppable, and its ultimate containment is through combating terrorism. Support for radicalism must end. Saving democracy requires preventing, not tolerating, radicalism, because today’s radicalism becomes tomorrow’s terrorism”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili also urged European institutions to follow the US example and cease “turning a blind eye, encouraging, or financing radicalism”, arguing that true European values must be defended.

“Everyone, including the European Union, must follow the example of the US administration and reject turning a blind eye to, encouraging, and financing radicalism, and return to genuine European values, because those who play with the wind of radicalism will, sooner or later, reap the storm of terrorism”, the Speaker concluded.