Interior Ministry launches administrative proceedings after far-right activists burn Parliament building’s EU flag [VIDEO]
Far-rights activists burnt the EU flag during a small rally at the Parliament building on Tuesday. Photo: RFE/RL
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The Georgian Interior Ministry on Tuesday said it had launched administrative proceedings after a group of far-right activists took down and burned the European Union flag from a pole in front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi earlier during the day.
The incident saw members and activists of the Conservative Movement political party of the Georgian right-wing media outlet Alt-Info take down the flag while making pronouncements against the country’s European integration aspirations.
They replaced the EU symbol outside the legislative body with the Georgian flag and demanded a referendum on the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence, proposed by former members of the ruling party before public protests and criticism from domestic opposition, civil sector and Georgia’s foreign partners saw the draft law retracted last week.
The withdrawn legislative piece involved registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “agents of foreign influence” if they derived more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, and was widely condemned as a “Russian law” by its critics.
Other demands by the group included release of the individuals convicted for violence during the 2021 counter-rally against the Tbilisi Pride event. Led by right-wing activists, the assaults on reporters who had gathered to cover the LGBTQ festival left more than 50 of them injured, while the conservative protesters also stormed offices of organisers of the eventually cancelled event. The group also called for “severe punishment” for “coup organisers” in the country, in reference to the United National Movement opposition party.
In its statement on Tuesday’s incident, the Interior Ministry said its investigation had been launched with an article on “desecration of official symbols”, adding the offenders would be “identified and fined”. The violation is punishable by ₾1,000 ($385), with a repeat offence incurring a doubled fine or 15-day imprisonment.
Statement of MIA regarding the protest rally held in Tbilisi near the Parliament building. https://t.co/Kt9fDiXhmF
— MIA of Georgia (@MIAofGeorgia) March 14, 2023
The incident follows public protests by citizens and the domestic opposition last week against the retracted bill, where pro-European symbols and slogans were widely used by demonstrators outside the Parliament building as they clashed with law enforcement.
Engaged in social media and public messaging reflecting tactics of pro-Russian organisations and groups, as well as homophobic attacks on Georgia’s queer community over the past several years, Alt-Info was registered as a limited liability company in January 2019, while the political party Conservative Movement was registered in December 2021.
Last year, Facebook deleted posts by Alt-Info on the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine as part of its work to “resist Russian propaganda and manipulation of the war”.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Friday said 58 law enforcement officers had received “various injuries” while ensuring safety during the rallies in central Tbilisi on Tuesday and Wednesday that protested the Parliament’s discussion of the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Georgian Parliament on Friday formally retracted the draft law on transparency of foreign influence, following the decision by the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw the bill.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday called on domestic opposition “to refrain from speculations”, stressing a “political decision” made by the party to withdraw the bill on transparency of foreign influence from the Parliament, could not be revised “under any circumstances”.
The political party Conservative Movement of the Georgian right-wing media outlet Alt-Info has been officially registered by the National Agency of Public Registry on December 7.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the European Union flag would be returned to the pole outside the Parliament building in Tbilisi “with due honour” after far-right activists took the symbol down and burned it in an incident earlier during the day.
Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, on Tuesday said taking down and burning the European Union flag had been not only an “impediment” to Georgia’s European path, but also an “insult” of Georgian people’s “historic choice”.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Thursday said it imposed administrative fines on five individuals for desecration of the official symbol and the flag of the European Union, after a group of far-right activists had taken down and burned the EU flag from a pole in front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi on Tuesday.