Speaker Papuashvili Speaks of EP Resolution on Saakashvili, Bill Drafted by People’s Power
In an interview with Kviris Palitra, which was published on February 20, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili spoke about the European Parliament’s resolution on ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili and the draft law on foreign agents submitted by the “People’s Power” faction, which is formed by the deputies who left “Georgian Dream” but remained in the parliamentary majority.
Mikheil Saakashvili, EP resolution
Speaking about the resolution on Mikheil Saakashvili’s health adopted by the European Parliament a few days ago, Speaker Papuashvili noted that “unfortunately, the resolutions of the European Parliament have become a source of disinformation and this is a reality.” He also said that “there are a lot of mistakes and inaccuracies” in previous resolutions as well.
“The very first sentence of this resolution gives the impression that Saakashvili was an exile, but everyone knows that he fled,” Papuashvili said, adding that “Georgian and not only Georgian justice found him guilty” and “three more cases are now being considered against him.”
“I have the impression that a group of MEPs is deliberately trying to harm Georgia in order to save Saakashvili from prison. It means that they are friends of Saakashvili and not of Georgia and can sacrifice the future of our country for one person,” he noted.
Papuashvili also recalled the people “tortured” under Saakashvili’s regime, citing the example of another Georgian citizen who complained about his ill-treatment while in Gldani prison and won the case against Georgia in the European Court of Human Rights.
“In fact, he [Mikheil Saakashvili] is the President of the Gulag. We should explain this to the Europeans,” Speaker Papuashvili said, stressing that “this is a part of history whose rewriting is being demanded by a group of politicians, who call the punishment of a perpetrator a vendetta.”
According to the Parliament Speaker, the only thing he agrees with in the EP resolution is that Saakashvili’s case “is a litmus test” to see “who is a friend of Georgia and who is a friend of Saakashvili.”
Draft law tabled by People’s Power
Commenting on the draft law on foreign agents submitted by People’s Power, Shalva Papuashvili said that “it is wrong to demand that this issue be taboo; it is undemocratic.”
He said that political parties and civil society organizations should be accountable for transparency. “I have said it many times. Citizens have the right to know who are the people who have participated in the decisions that have affected their lives.”
“This is not a new issue. There have been cases, when sensitive issues and various regulations have been misused,” he said, adding that “the issue needs to be investigated.”
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