Europetime spoke to MEP Maria Kaliurand on recent developments in Georgia

The current situation in Georgia was the topic of the Europetime comment with the Chair of the delegation to the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee Marina Kaljurand. He said that `What happened was a tragedy: `and for the moment, we address our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Lekso Lashkarava. I also express our sympathy and solidarity with the LGBTQI+ persons of Georgia and encourage them to continue their fight to assert their rights despite bigotry. Lessons will have to be drawn, and responsibilities established, at the level of government officials and law enforcement agencies over what happened.

While I certainly appreciate the authorities’ firm condemnation of violence against media workers after last week’s events - this is not enough. We cannot ignore the fact, that the authorities showed a lack of willingness to provide sufficient police protection to the event, and did not condemn loud and clear menaces and hate speech - a weakness which could have been interpreted by some radical forces as a ‘green light’ to resort to violence.

In the future, the authorities will need to safeguard the fundamental freedoms of LGBTQI+ persons, including their right to organize or attend peaceful gatherings. This is indispensable if they want their EU ambitions to be taken seriously in Brussels. That said, we warn against any attempt of politicization / political exploitation of these tragic events, especially by political forces which have never been themselves, advocates of LGBTQI+ rights`, - Said Marina Kaljurand.

Marina Kaljurand is an Estonian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015-2016), Earlier, she served as the Ambassador of Estonia to the United States (2011–2014), and in Russia (2007-2011).

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