In an exclusive interview with Euronews the Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili discussed vetoing the controversial foreign agents bill, police brutality and the potential in Georgia's upcoming parliamentary elections.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Days after it was passed by the Parliament, Georgia's president has told Euronews she'll
00:05 veto the controversial foreign influence bill.
00:09 Its approval puts Georgia's bid to join the EU in jeopardy.
00:12 "This law will pass, the veto will be overruled or it will be modified in a marginal and uninterested
00:20 way.
00:21 So the important thing today is to go to the elections."
00:24 The ruling party says the law will promote transparency and national sovereignty.
00:29 But riot police have been brought in to break up protests against it.
00:33 "These are brutalities that are not the police acting like any police, but special forces
00:43 that have a police registration but no identification.
00:48 So investigations, investigations on the perpetrators of the brutality are not possible.
00:55 So we are in a situation that could escalate into violence at any time."
01:03 She says the upcoming parliamentary election in October will give the voters a chance to
01:08 reverse the law.
01:09 "Through elections we will have a referendum on Europe.
01:13 That's how we will see the next elections, which will not be normal elections, which
01:18 will be elections to stop this deviation.
01:22 I use a weak word, it's just a deviation, we're going to come back on the road, but
01:27 it's important to do it through elections.
01:30 And above all, the European Union must say very clearly that it will take into account
01:35 the choice of the Georgian.
01:36 That is, it will not sanction the country.
01:38 I distinguish between individual sanctions and the country.
01:41 But the country will not be sanctioned until its response is not known in the polls."
01:48 She dubbed the Russian law "the Bill of Silence" and the Kremlin's legislation used to silence
01:52 critics.
01:53 "What I can guarantee is that in this country, which has experienced at least three wars
02:00 and decades of occupation by the different Russia, not to say centuries, which has 20
02:08 percent of its territory occupied, on which there are no days that go by without hostages
02:13 taken, where the Georgian language is practically forbidden, where the rights of man, including
02:20 non-Georgian populations, are violated every day, there can be no temptation to return
02:27 to the Russian gyron, especially when we look at what Russia is today."
02:32 The President has until May 28 to act on the bill, which targets foreign-funded media and
02:38 non-profit organizations.
02:40 government could overrule her veto.
02:42 [WHOOSH]
Recommended
Georgian president calls for protests after ruling party wins disputed election
euronews (in English)
Georgia can turn its EU fortunes around, President Zourabichvili tells Euronews
euronews (in English)