MP Says Georgia Needs ‘Patriot Act’

MP Gia Tortladze said on October 14 that he planned to offer the Parliament to pass U.S. Patriot Act-style law to deter foreign and terrorist threats.

The issue of Patriot Act was raised at least twice previously by the authorities – once in 2006 and then shortly after the August war when President Saakashvili said that Georgia needed “a patriot act” to deter possible attempts to overthrow the government through foreign intervention.

The idea, which was slammed by the opposition, did not see any further progress and no written draft was even presented.

“For the purpose of being ready for either provocative or terrorist acts, we should pass Patriot Act; this is extremely important for the security of each of our citizen, for the country’s security and for revealing spies of foreign country, which may be in Georgia,” MP Gia Tortladze told Rustavi 2 and Imedi television stations.

“There are cases of explosions in the areas adjacent to occupied territories and there are Russia’s threats and allegations as if terrorists are being prepared in Georgia. It indicates that something serious is being prepared by Russia against Georgia. So I think Patriot Act is needed; this will be kind of anti-terrorist measures,” he said.

MP Tortladze, who is a founder of Democratic Party of Georgia, is formally a member of the parliamentary minority group. But his colleagues from the same parliamentary minority group spoke against of the proposal on October 15.

“We are concerned with MP Tortladze’s initiative,” MP Levan Vepkhvadze, vice-speaker of the parliament from Christian-Democratic Movement, said. “This document may be used for legalization of politicizing of law enforcement agencies. The fact that law enforcement agencies are now illegally eavesdropping political opponents, will be legalized if the proposal is approved.”

On October 15 MP Tortladze tried to allay criticism by saying that his proposal would no way imply infringe of civil liberties; he also said that his proposal would not involve those controversial elements which were part of the U.S. Patriot Act.

MP Pavle Kublashvili of the ruling party, who chairs the parliamentary committee for legal affairs, told Imedi TV on October 15: “This is very important issue, as far as security is concerned; but how necessary such radical measures are we have to see only after we will be able to study an actual draft.”

Some non-parliamentary opposition politicians have alleged that the reemergence of talk on so called patriot act was triggered by the authorities themselves through its loyal lawmaker, referring to MP Tortladze.

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