Speaker Picks on EC Decision to Lambast “Multimillionaire NGOs”
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuasvhili railed against what he called “multimillionaire NGOs,” saying they were “not loyal to Georgia, but to their funder.”
The Speaker made this statement in the context of the adoption by the European Commission of the Defence of Democracy Package, which is billed as an effort to “shed light on covert foreign influence” in the EU. Papuashvili reflected ironically that the EU had slammed the government last March for adopting the law on the “Agents of Foreign Influence,” while today, “the European Union is asking for the same today by initiating a Directive.”
Speaker Papuashvili claimed that “multimillionaire NGOs” serve the interests of “their donors, not of the Georgian people” when they call for imposing sanctions on Russia, urged the EU “to postpone the decision regarding the status of the candidate,” or to “impose sanctions on Georgian citizens without evidence.”
The Speaker said, “Patriotism is not a legal obligation,” but said civil society leaders “have made a moral choice that they are lobbyists for the interests of their funders and not for the interests of Georgia.”
Politico, a Brussels-based broadsheet, reported recently that civil society groups “bitterly contest” the EC plans related to the national registries for externally funded civil society groups, among others, for fear that illiberal regimes would abuse these to close down civic space.
In March, 2023, tens of thousands of Georgians faced down the riot police in protest against the law pushed through the Parliament by the Georgian Dream, which was eventually forced to withdraw it. Still, the ruling party continued attempts to discredit the CSOs, including by launching an investigation against U.S-funded civil society groups.
Also read:
- 25/10/2023 – Speaker: USAID and EED ‘Fund Extremism in Georgia’
- 09/02/2023 – Parliament Speaker Delivers Annual Report, Slams Opposition, CSOs
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