Georgian ruling party accuses France of funding radical organisations

Georgian MP Levan Makhashvili from the ruling Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia party has accused the French Embassy in Tbilisi of deliberately financing radical organisations, warning that any potential violent acts committed by these groups would place direct responsibility on the French Ambassador to Georgia, Sheraz Gasri. 

Makhashvili’s statement comes in response to a grant competition announced by the French Embassy to support civic initiatives, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media.

According to information available on the embassy’s official website, one of the winning proposals was submitted by the NGO Laboratory for the Study of the Soviet Past. The project envisions the development of new tourist routes in the cities of Gori and Kutaisi to explore Georgia’s Soviet heritage.

“It is very unfortunate to have to speak about this, but the fact remains: if something happens in the future, this person (the French ambassador) could be held directly responsible for the actions of these organisations,” Makhashvili stated.

Members of the ruling party voiced concern that the grant funds could be misused, citing the presence of individuals linked to the opposition in the NGO. Among its members are current and former representatives of the United National Movement, as well as co-founders and trainers from the Serbian-based activist training network CANVAS, including Giorgi Kandelaki and Irakli Khvadagiani.

“If in the past one could assume that ambassadors were acting out of ignorance or error regarding these organisations, now it is absolutely clear: the funding of radicals is being carried out consciously and deliberately,” the MP asserted.

Makhashvili concluded by stating that if acts of violence or psychological pressure emerge from these groups in the future, the responsibility can be directly attributed to the French ambassador.

By Tamilla Hasanova