Tbilisi Mayor accuses European institutions of double standards over protests in France, Georgia

Kakha Kaladze, Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday accused European institutions of applying double standards in their responses to violence during protests in France and Georgia.

In his remarks, Kaladze claimed that violent activities which had been encouraged and funded from abroad in Georgia in recent years were now taking place in European countries themselves.

“Over the past few years, we have seen the creation of violent organisations in Georgia, direct funding and verbal or ‘messaging’-based encouragement. Ambassadors from various countries and prime ministers from European states came here, attended violent protests and encouraged these groups. Condemning them was out of the question. This is a complete catastrophe”, he noted.

“The turmoil they created in Georgia was not accidental. All of this was happening with their funding. Their actions have been completely exposed. Everyone knows how they acted towards Georgia. Today, they are seeing in their own countries the very turmoil they brought about in Georgia. You can see what is happening. Of course, violence is unacceptable. The level of violence we see in the footage is unimaginable”, Kaladze added.

Kaladze said double standards were evident in the strong condemnation of violence by demonstrators in European cities, while similar incidents in Georgia had allegedly been encouraged.