Burjanadze: Advanced Dictatorship Established in Georgia

Georgia’s former Prime Minister and one of the leaders of the Democratic Movement Nino Burjanadze said that after the events on 26 May an ‘advanced dictatorship’ was actually established in Georgia, making all new steps.

“The pressure on independent media, the terror against their own people, the propaganda of lies and lawlessness already acquire the force of law,” said Burjanadze.

In proof of her statement, the former prime minister recalled that the Georgian parliament has recently adopted at first reading amendments to the law on demonstrations and a package of constitutional amendments, which do not give citizens the right to express an elementary protest.

According to the opposition, in the coming days the parliament will also summarily adopt amendments to the law on operative investigation activities, according to which legal resolution for covert wiretapping, audio and video recording will not be required anymore.

“In Georgia, a total control is being established in any space, for example, a simple funny comment or status published on Facebook, on your personal page, may be reason for your arrest,” Burjanadze and her associates noted.

Burjanadze considers the introduction of telephone area codes from June 20 in Georgia to be another manifestation of ‘the advanced dictatorship’. Now foreign colleagues simply can not communicate with their Georgian fellow oppositionists. “Answering calls from abroad the operator simply records that the number is entered incorrectly and does not explain how to correctly call to Georgia,” Burjanadze explained.

“Someone may interpret this statement as impact of conspiracy theories, but the fact is that many Georgians, who had to leave home because of the bad situation created in the country and go abroad to support their family, can not communicate with their relatives remaining there and get unbiased information about events taking place in Georgia,” said the statement by the Democratic Movement.