Georgian Parliament official: those opposing transparency not NGOs, but their funders, donors

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, on Tuesday said that resistance to transparency did not originate from so-called NGOs themselves, but from their funders, donors, and international organisations.

Ionatamishvili’s remarks followed an enquiry by Imedi TV, redirected to the Danish Ministry through the Danish Embassy, which provided a general response referencing international transparency platforms.

Ionatamishvili noted that the reaction from the Danish side only deepened concerns rather than clarifying the issue.

“It would probably have been better if they had remained silent instead of issuing such a response, because in reality they raised even more question marks and further confirmed that, apparently, they too have a lot to hide”, he said.

The official argued that when discussing opposition to transparency principles, the focus should not be placed on NGOs that publicly positioned themselves at the forefront of protests, but rather on the donors and international organisations financing them.

“In reality, when we talk about certain forces acting against the principle of transparency, of course, instead of these exalted NGOs, it is their donors who are behind it. Today, we can already say that those who were actually opposing transparency were not these political NGOs that supposedly stood at the forefront, but their financiers, donors, and international organizations”, he concluded.

Embassies accredited in Georgia have remained silent for the third consecutive day regarding a letter sent by Imedi TV.

Imedi TV addressed the EU Delegation as well as the embassies of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and the United Kingdom with the following question:

“Have you, or foundations funded from your country’s state budget, provided grants to organisations registered in Estonia by representatives of Georgian non-governmental organisations?”

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in its response, stated, “Denmark’s cooperation with Georgia is based on agreed bilateral frameworks, including a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023. Details of Denmark’s international development cooperation are published on the official platform OpenAid.um.dk, which provides accessible data in accordance with internationally recognised transparency standards”.