UK calls on Georgian Gov’t to take “immediate steps” to prevent “unlawful intimidation of protesters”
The statement further added the UK would “continue to stand with Georgia” to support its democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations. Photo: bm.ge
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The United Kingdom Government on Friday called on the Georgian authorities to take “immediate steps” to prevent “unlawful intimidation of protesters” and investigate “all rights abuses” amid protest rallies against the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
The statement came after reports of protesters and opposition party members being assaulted across capital Tbilisi over the recent days, as protests continue against the bill reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party and in hearing by the Parliament.
The British Embassy said practices including “threatening phone calls, unlawful detention, beatings and personalised posters portraying civil society members as traitors” had “no place in a democratic society”.
The statement further added the UK would “continue to stand with Georgia” to support its democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.
The Foreign Ministry of Sweden on Friday released a joint statement by Nordic and Baltic countries on “recent developments” in Georgia, which said the bill on transparency of foreign influence, currently under consideration in the country’s Parliament, was “incompatible with European norms and values”.
The European Union “sincerely wants and hopes to open accession negotiations with Georgia, but it is “necessary to solve the issue” around the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the EU to Georgia said on Thursday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday said he was convinced that by 2030, Georgia would achieve full European Union membership , in his message on the annual Europe Day.
Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Thursday said the bloc wanted Georgia with its “unique culture and traditions” to become a part of “our European Union family”.