Parliament Speaker: Country’s problem is “radicalisation from certain political groups”, not polarisation
The “continuous support” of the European People's Party to the “radical” domestic United National Movement party has been clearly seen, Papuashvili emphasised, adding every European structure had to “realise” that supporting radicalism in Georgia would not make it possible for the country “to achieve depolarisation”. Photo via Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday said the country’s problem was “radicalisation from certain political groups”, for whom the democratic process was “unacceptable”, and not polarisation, as Georgian society was united around the “basic issues” including the country’s European integration.
The radical groups [of the domestic opposition] want to rule the country without the support of the people and legal elections, Papuashvili noted, stressing “democracy can not compromise with radicalism”.
The Government has almost finished the implementation of the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Union [in June] for granting the membership candidate status to Georgia later this year, the Parliament Speaker told the Public Broadcaster and stressed it was “impossible to achieve depolarisation” [the first point of EU conditions] “for many reasons”, including the actions of the radical opposition - “boycotting the parliament and organising rallies” instead of taking part in fulfilling the recommendations.
The “continuous support” of the European People's Party to the “radical” domestic United National Movement party has been clearly seen, Papuashvili emphasised, adding every European structure had to “realise” that supporting radicalism in Georgia would not make it possible for the country “to achieve depolarisation”.
Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Monday called on the domestic opposition to remain in the Parliament and take a “constructive” approach on the ongoing work for implementing the European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Georgian people see every day how the “radical extremist” party, the United National Movement, has been turning into “some kind of comical organisation”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Saturday.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday urged domestic opposition parties to “distance themselves from large, radical groups” on the domestic scene to facilitate the formation of a “healthier political environment” in the country.
Announcement of United National Movement, the largest opposition party in the country, to boycott Parliamentary work in response to Tbilisi City Court ruling on the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is a part of the party’s “continuous efforts” to “hamper” Georgia’s European integration process, Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Tuesday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Sunday expressed his gratitude towards Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, his team and the Ministry’s Special Tasks Department, as well as police officers for “perfectly” planning and executing the dispersal of the rally outside the Parliament building in Tbilisi, during the protest after the legislative body gave its initial backing to a proposed bill on transparency of foreign influence in its first reading.
The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Sunday not only members of "anarchist, destructive movement", but also "enthusiastic students" stood at transparency bill rallies outside the Parliament in central Tbilisi on Tuesday and Wednesday, adding they were “not so aggressive”, they protested “calmly” and supported the idea of Europe.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said the fulfilment of one of the priorities outlined by the European Union for granting Georgia its membership candidate status - depolarisation - depended on the domestic opposition’s “willingness to take steps for deradicalisation”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the Georgian Government would present a “detailed” report on all the fulfilled 12 priorities outlined by the European Union for granting the country its membership candidate status later this year.