“Nobody has the right to take away your future. No one has the authority to set up traps,” Salome Zourabichvili, President of Georgia, stated in a video message from New York.

“I’m speaking to those of you who are standing on Rustaveli this evening, as I have done many times myself. I’m standing in New York, and the Statue of Liberty is behind me. Georgia has long fought for this symbol. That is why we have come to this day, and I’m by your side because you represent free Georgia today. Georgia sees its future in Europe and will not let anyone take it away. This future belongs to the next generations and all of us. This is the future that past generations have been preparing for and that we are preparing for. Therefore, no one has the right to take your future away. No one has the right to set up traps. This bill, which no one needs and which comes from nowhere except dictated by Russia,” the President stated.

“This law should be revoked in any way you want. It should be in no way sent to the Venice Commission, and the Venice Commission knows very well what type of law this is,” Salome Zourabichvili said.

“From day one, I said I would veto this law, and I will veto it. I am not interested in discussing it in detail. I don’t care if it resembles some old American law that, as we very well know, serves a very different purpose.

I am only interested in the future of Georgia. I am only interested in the Constitution, which I am a guarantor of. And this Constitution reads that all the institutions of Georgia are obliged to do everything to bring this country into the European Union. The path of European integration should be protected. Those who support this law today, all those who voted for this law today, are all violating the Constitution. They are driving us away from Europe.

I appeal to the ambassadors abroad who represent Georgia in various European countries, here in America. What do we protect, or what do you represent, if not this European future?

All of us together, the young people who are there, me here holding negotiations, say the same thing: that we do not want the law that is meant to take us away from Europe. We are all together today, we will be together tomorrow, and we will take this country to Europe. I make this promise to you because I made this promise to myself a long time ago,” the President stated.

A protest against the so-called Foreign Agents bills at the Georgian Parliament building is going violent, with protestors firing firebombs at riot police while the police using water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray against demonstrators.

Today, we stand together! We’ll stand together tomorrow and lead our country into Europe. I make this promise to you as I have made the same promise to myself a long time ago 🇬🇪🇪🇺
My full statement: https://t.co/3dvga0Ovhx pic.twitter.com/L59LltC8G1

— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) March 7, 2023