GD Chair: Agent is an Agent and Should Be Punished
On May 11, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili spoke to journalists about the draft law on foreign agents, striking a conciliatory tone toward rapprochement with the West and more dialogue with Western partners, but at the same time also pushing the GD narrative that Western-funded organizations could be agents and stressing the importance of punishing the “agents.”
Commenting on the criticism of Georgia’s Western partners over the Foreign Agents Law, the former PM said that there should be more dialogue with them to ensure that the government can properly explain its side and reach a compromise, saying: “I am in favor of removing the misunderstanding. We have to clear it, all the questions between us have to be cleared.” However, he stressed that the Western partners were once again “treating Georgia unfairly,” arguing that the EU had shown “unfair” treatment last year by not granting Georgia candidate status, even though it “deserved it more than Moldova and Ukraine.”
As for the bill itself, Garibashvili stressed: “If acting in the interests of a foreign state is legalized, I, as a citizen, do not welcome it. For me, serving the interests of a foreign state is treason… no matter which country’s agent it is, whether it’s Russia, America, Africa or Asia. An agent is an agent. That is punishable. That’s treason.”
Garibashvili also added: “If an organization serves the interests of a foreign country, such an organization should be closed down immediately, without any ceremony, and such a person should be punished.” He said: “How can a Georgian citizen be thinking of serving other country’s interest? There should be only one interest, that of your own country.”
Regarding the violence that took place in Georgia in the last few days, the GD Chair said that it started because of the “impunity syndrome”, which he strongly condemns. He noted that the violence spread when the people who “harass and attack the police in order to provoke them” receive impunity, calling these people representatives of the “fascist” United National Movement Party and “radical anarchists”. As for the cases of police physically attacking civilians, he said that “no one beats them up”, and as for the orchestrated attacks on politicians and activists, he said that he “condemns all kinds of violence”.
Also Read:
