EU Ambassador says violence “unacceptable” amid protests over controversial transparency bill
Herczyński’s comments came after Imedi TV on Tuesday condemned attacks against its crews at the rally outside the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi. Photo: EU Delegation to Georgia
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Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Wednesday said violence was “unacceptable” in comments on the ongoing public protests against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Herczyński’s comments came after Imedi TV on Tuesday condemned attacks against its crews at the rally outside the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi.
“We support the right to a peaceful demonstration. In a democratic country any form of violence is unacceptable”, Herczyński said.
He also commented on the use of pepper spray and force by law enforcement officers against participants of the rally by saying violence "from any side" was "unacceptable".
“Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly is an important part of any democracy, but violence from any side under any pretext is unacceptable”, he added.
The diplomat also said he hoped the cases would not be repeated in the country.
The Georgian Parliament on Wednesday approved the first reading of the bill on the transparency of foreign influence that has sparked public protests and criticism by some of the country’s foreign partners.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday claimed the aim of public protests over the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence was to “suppress discussion and stage violent scenes”.
The Committee on Legal Issues of the Georgian Parliament on Monday started discussing the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, which calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
Irakli Garibashvili, the new Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the former Prime Minister of Georgia, on Saturday said the ruling team should continue to work with the country’s international partners - “European and American friends” - to resolve any questions on the controversial Georgian bill on transparency of foreign influence, resubmitted by the parliamentary majority last week.