Exclusive: There is no temptation to return to Russia, Georgian President Zourabichvili says

euronews (in English)

In an exclusive interview with Euronews the Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili discussed vetoing the controversial foreign agents bill, police brutality and the potential in Georgia's upcoming parliamentary elections.

Transcript

00:00 Days after it was passed by the Parliament, Georgia's president has told Euronews she'll

00:05 veto the controversial foreign influence bill.

00:09 Its approval puts Georgia's bid to join the EU in jeopardy.

00:12 "This law will pass, the veto will be overruled or it will be modified in a marginal and uninterested

00:20 way.

00:21 So the important thing today is to go to the elections."

00:24 The ruling party says the law will promote transparency and national sovereignty.

00:29 But riot police have been brought in to break up protests against it.

00:33 "These are brutalities that are not the police acting like any police, but special forces

00:43 that have a police registration but no identification.

00:48 So investigations, investigations on the perpetrators of the brutality are not possible.

00:55 So we are in a situation that could escalate into violence at any time."

01:03 She says the upcoming parliamentary election in October will give the voters a chance to

01:08 reverse the law.

01:09 "Through elections we will have a referendum on Europe.

01:13 That's how we will see the next elections, which will not be normal elections, which

01:18 will be elections to stop this deviation.

01:22 I use a weak word, it's just a deviation, we're going to come back on the road, but

01:27 it's important to do it through elections.

01:30 And above all, the European Union must say very clearly that it will take into account

01:35 the choice of the Georgian.

01:36 That is, it will not sanction the country.

01:38 I distinguish between individual sanctions and the country.

01:41 But the country will not be sanctioned until its response is not known in the polls."

01:48 She dubbed the Russian law "the Bill of Silence" and the Kremlin's legislation used to silence

01:52 critics.

01:53 "What I can guarantee is that in this country, which has experienced at least three wars

02:00 and decades of occupation by the different Russia, not to say centuries, which has 20

02:08 percent of its territory occupied, on which there are no days that go by without hostages

02:13 taken, where the Georgian language is practically forbidden, where the rights of man, including

02:20 non-Georgian populations, are violated every day, there can be no temptation to return

02:27 to the Russian gyron, especially when we look at what Russia is today."

02:32 The President has until May 28 to act on the bill, which targets foreign-funded media and

02:38 non-profit organizations.

02:40 government could overrule her veto.

02:42 [WHOOSH]

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