Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili strongly criticized the civil society Shame Movement for leaving spray-painted messages on the Parliament building, saying the responsibility lays on European donors that finance the organization.
In a statement released on Sunday, Papuashvili argued that the donors’ financial support for the Shame Movement has encouraged the group to engage in ”increasingly aggressive actions.” He referred to the spray-painting of the Parliament building as vandalism and suggested that such actions are being facilitated by the lack of accountability from European and American donors.
“In Europe, this would be called vandalism,” Papuashvili said, pointing out that the cleanup costs of such vandalism actions fall on Georgian taxpayers, while the organization receives funding from abroad. He criticized the ongoing support for the group from the European Union, accusing it of neglecting the consequences of its financial backing.
„A decent donor would come and clean up the (vandalized) wall of the Parliament building, but for that one should be a real European, similar to us, Georgians,” he wrote.
Papuashvili also drew attention to what he sees as a double standard, asking how the EU would react if a Georgian-funded NGO in Brussels engaged in vandalism activities. He questioned whether the European Union would tolerate such behavior if it was directed at their own institutions.
“In the case of Shame Movement, all of this has been happening for years, funded by the EU budget and with the involvement of European politicians and bureaucrats. However, neither the European politicians nor the bureaucrats want to take responsibility for it,” he added.
The Speaker also mentioned the recent public outcry over Friday’s decision of the Shame Movement regarding registration in the Foreign Influence Registry. After receiving strong criticism from the public and opposition players, the organization reversed its decision on Saturday, saying they were afraid of the legal penalties that are imposed on organizations that fail to register as pursuant of foreign influence.
„The virtual stoning of Shame movement and its results have only one culprit – an irresponsible donor,” Papuashvili stressed”.
The law on Foreign Influence Transparency, adopted by the parliamentary majority, is labeled as a “Russian law” by domestic actors, allegedly impeding the country’s European integration. The law obliges local NGOs and media organizations to register as pursuants of foreign influence if they receive more than 20 percent of their incomes from abroad. Fines for organizations not registered in the registry will begin to be imposed from September 3. At this stage, Georgia’s Constitutional Court is reviewing four lawsuits against the controversial law.
