Parliament official claims domestic opposition, radical activists “systematically” funded by foreign endowments from EU, US

Nino Tsilosani, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party and Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Sunday claimed that the domestic opposition and radical activists were “systematically” funded by foreign endowments from the European Union and the United States.

Tsilosani's comments came in response to reports about a possible investigation into the UK’s Labour Party over EU funding. She argued that every attempt at revolution in Georgia had been backed by foreign donor organisations.

She stressed that the ruling Georgian Dream party had long spoken about foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs.

“The Georgian opposition and radical activists are systematically funded by foreign endowments from the EU and the United States. Every attempt at revolution in Georgia has been supported by foreign donor organisations. For over a year, we have been publicly speaking about external interference. Because of the transparency law, which has now become a hot topic in the US as well, we were subjected to political attacks - but we endured”, Tsilosani noted.

She further criticised anti-Government protests in Georgia, particularly the planned road blockade of Tbilisi’s main entrance, which she had labelled as illegal.

“Today, radical activists and anti-state political parties are organising a protest aimed at blocking the main highway leading into Tbilisi. This would be a crime under the laws of almost any country and is certainly a criminal offence under Georgian law. With the newly elected US President taking historic steps to reassess American funding, it is time for Europe to also respect the sovereignty of other nations”, she concluded.