Shalva Papuashvili about the German ambassador – The fact that the European Union is great does not give anyone the right to forbid us from criticizing what deserves criticism. Mixing criticism with "speaking badly" is a Soviet way of thinking

The fact that the European Union is great and that we want to join it does not give anyone the right to forbid us from criticizing what deserves criticism — confusing criticism with “speaking badly” is precisely a Soviet, not a European, way of thinking, — with this statement, the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, addresses the German ambassador on social media.­

“Europe means openness to criticism, not the suppression of critical opinion. The fact that the European Union is great and that we want to join it does not give anyone the right to forbid us from criticizing what deserves criticism.

The German ambassador’s periodic attacks on the elected representatives of the Georgian people, due to irritation with legitimate criticism, are fundamentally and formally deeply un-European behavior. It is important that such attacks stop,” writes Shalva Papuashvili.

“If you want to join an organization like the European Union, it is not a good idea to speak so badly about it,” German ambassador Peter Fischer told journalists before the start of Mzia Amaglobeli’s court trial.

The ambassador said that Germany is a friend of Georgia and wants Georgia to become a member of the Union.