Georgian Parliament Speaker says EU cannot escape “moral abyss” while backing Molotov cocktails

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday sharply criticised the European Union by saying that until EU institutions publicly disown support for protesters who throw Molotov cocktails, it will remain trapped in a “values abyss” from which it cannot emerge.

Speaking in response to a question about what kind of democracy the Georgian Dream considers worthy of surprising Europe, Papuashvili invoked recent violent episodes during demonstrations and drew a contrast with how Western police would respond to similar actions in cities such as Berlin or Paris.

“If 15 people can block Rustaveli Avenue and get away with it, then I think that’s democracy. Try to have 15 people block Potsdamer Platz in Berlin or the Champs-Élysées in Paris - block a street in any country and see how the police treat you; there is footage showing it. You’ll see how brutally they’ll haul you off to prison afterwards”, the Speaker said.
Papuashvili accused some foreign actors and NGOs of tacitly condoning or even financing “domestic terrorism” that manifested during protests, specifically pointing to footage of people throwing Molotov cocktails at police.
The Speaker further added that “no one should have a problem with imprisoning people who throw Molotov cocktails”, stressing that it was absurd for countries like the Czech Republic to declare Georgian officials “undesirable” for defending police actions against such violence.

The Speaker urged Brussels to explicitly distance itself from what he described as glorification or tolerance of violent protest tactics.

“As long as Brussels stands on the side of Molotov cocktails and does not clearly reject such acts, it will remain in a moral abyss, while the Georgian people will continue to give a firm response to all such actions”, Papuashvili concluded.