“The biggest scam of our time”: Georgian Parliament Speaker criticises foreign-funded NGOs, cites Musk, US administration

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday echoed statements by Elon Musk and the US administration, criticising so-called non-governmental organisations that receive funding from foreign governments and are involved in domestic politics.

“What we have been talking about for a long time, and why Brussels and its representatives have treated us almost like anti-democrats, is being confirmed by Elon Musk and the US administration: the greatest oxymoron and the biggest scam of the 21st century are so-called NGOs funded by foreign governments and engaged in political activity”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili noted that the current US administration has exposed this “scam” and consequently cut all funding to what he described as a “corrupt system”.

“The so-called NGO system is the greatest evil imposed by the West, particularly on Eastern European countries, the so-called new democracies. The West’s greatest wrongdoing against the democracies of Eastern Europe has been precisely this NGO system, which has inserted agents of foreign interests wherever possible. They have been involved in legislation, executive activities, judicial matters, media - everywhere the tentacles of foreign governments are embedded. Elon Musk reiterated that it is an absolute oxymoron to call organisations funded by foreign governments non-governmental”, the Speaker said.