Parliament Speaker condemns violence, says Gov’t responsible to respond appropriately

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Sunday said the violence was unacceptable and had to be punished, noting the Government’s liability was to ensure an appropriate response to a crime and the opposition’s “responsibility” to “at least” condemn it verbally.

Papuashvili made this comment on a confrontation between supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream and the opposition United National Movement parties in Georgia’s town of Kaspi that had taken place on Friday during the UNM Chair Levan Khabeishvili’s meeting with locals.

• Interior Ministry investigating clash between Georgian Dream, UNM supporters in Kaspi

The Parliament official said the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had also “strongly” condemned the violence, and noted the law enforcement’s “reaction to every violence” was visible, as everyone involved in violent crimes was being arrested and police worked “equally in all cases”.

He criticised the opposition for not recognising the aggressors from their side, citing  March rallies in Tbilisi over the controversial foreign influence transparency bill, when some of the protesters had attacked the Parliament building, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at police officers.

Papuashvili stressed that a crime would always be responded to with punishment.