“Last year, the Georgian people and the government were promised that foreign financing would be transparent, but we were deceived. Instead of more transparency, we got more opacity,” said Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

The Speaker noted that throughout one year, he personally met all donors and diplomatic representations to persuade them that transparency was not only the choice but the obligation of a donor as per the Paris Declaration on the effectiveness of international aid.

Shalva Papuashvili went on to say that the government learnt that some political parties and radical groups received financing from foreign funds. He also added that the Shame movement romanticised the use of Molotov Cocktails, while these campaigns were funded with American and European taxpayer money.

The Speaker stressed that the government was obliged to ensure transparency for citizens.

“Foreign Financing Transparency is the issue of economic and political security. Therefore, only the Georgian people and their elected government have the competency to decide security-related issues. Foreign actors have no word in this. The word goes to Georgian people. Only the Georgian people know what is good for their security, especially when foreign actors are interested stakeholders in this matter,” he said.