Parliament Speaker: in reality, it is not radical opposition we face today, but radical Brussels seeking to effect government change in Georgia from the outside

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday commented on the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s statement, noting that the document carried two main messages - condemning the violent overthrow of state institutions and condemning the boycott of elections and Parliament by the opposition parties.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that Brussels’ goal is to encourage violence, radicalism, extremism, and propaganda against Georgia, since behind every radical, propagandist, and violent group is European funding, which is acknowledged.

“Only two sentences were needed, and I want to ask the EU ambassador - is it so difficult? Is it difficult to say this simple truth, that storming the president’s palace is unacceptable? Why is it so hard for Mr. Herczyński to say this few-word sentence? Why is it difficult for him and the leadership in Brussels to state another simple sentence: that ignoring parliamentary mandates and abandoning parliamentary mandates is not democracy? Do you know why? Because in reality, nothing is difficult. They do it deliberately, to preserve the legitimacy they have granted to radicalism. Today, we actually face not a radical opposition, but a radical Brussels trying to implement violent scenarios and change the government from outside”, the speaker said.

He added that Europe had taken on a role that the new US administration had refused - regime change - but “fortunately, they are poor students, and October 4 is an example of a failed attempt to overthrow the government externally, supported at the level of the European Commission spokesperson”.

The president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Pere Joan Pons and a high-level delegation concluded their visit to Georgia.

The Assembly’s concluding statement emphasised that the use of violence against state institutions is unacceptable, resolving Georgia’s problems is not the business of another international body, and boycotts cannot replace dialogue and political activism.