08/02/2013 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 08.02.2013 – The co-rapporteurs on Georgia of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) and Boriss Cilevičs (Latvia, SOC), have condemned the outbreak of violence during today’s protest in front of the National Library in Tbilisi where President Saakashvili was scheduled to make his “State of the Union” address.
“Violence has no place at democratic protests,” said the two co-rapporteurs. “We call on all concerned to maintain calm and to refrain from any action that could further increase tension. We urge the authorities to fully investigate this outbreak of violence and to prosecute any perpetrators in full compliance with international standards,” they added.