Papuashvili: Anti-hate speech division will help salvage EU’s damaged reputation in Georgia

“The anti-hate speech division will ensure that externally imposed hatred within Georgia is curbed,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, told journalists.

According to Papuashvili, it is vital to prevent the incitement and escalation of tensions through the weaponisation of hate speech.

“This division will deliver results and demonstrate that externally imposed hatred in Georgia will be reduced. This is crucial, not least for political debate. When self-proclaimed pro-European forces resort entirely to insults and abuse, any form of open discussion is naturally stifled.

Therefore, safeguarding our political landscape and our national security requires ensuring that relations are not escalated through the use of hate speech.

Furthermore, the second outcome this will achieve is that the EU’s damaged reputation might be somewhat salvaged. Today, in the eyes of the Georgian public, hatred has become synonymous with being pro-European. We see that those who claim to be pro-European are the very sources of hatred and the primary purveyors of profanity, both on social media and beyond. Consequently, the European Union’s reputation itself is being harmed by this.

If the EU does not wish to remain associated with profanity, abuse, and hate speech, I believe it should champion this initiative. Ultimately, this will force these so-called pro-European forces to return to polite, civil rhetoric, allowing us to understand what it is they want. We have already established that they excel at hurling insults. Whether they possess any actual arguments or substance beyond that abuse remains to be seen,” Shalva Papuashvili declared.