“Excessive foreign interference must give way to respect for national sovereignty, and foreign-funded NGOs to genuine civil society and, consequently, genuine democracy,” Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, said in his speech during the general debate of the world conference of speakers of parliaments – IPU - in Geneva.

According to Shalva Papuashvili, Georgia is among those nations the democracy of which has suffered from intrusive foreign political interference.

“We have seen how, with foreign support, a strange narrative has developed, when foreign-funded NGOs were initially identified with civil society, and then civil society with people. With such mental manipulation, foreign-funded NGOs have become “the people.” As a result, NGOs have been portrayed as a counterweight to the legitimately elected Parliament of Georgia, the legitimacy of which is measured not by the democratic mandate granted by people, but by the amount of foreign funding they receive. The fact that genuine civil society has been replaced by fake NGOs is a direct blow to democracy,” noted Shalva Papuashvili.

According to him, the interests of democracy and the rule of law oblige us to return to the fundamental norms of the rules-based international order - sovereignty, democracy and non-interference in internal affairs.