No to Phobia: Armenophobic Comments of Mechiauri are Alarming
Members of NGO platform No to Phobia condemn violent actions of Tamaz Mechiauri, Chair of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, and his Anti-Armenian sentiments. We believe that government officials must show a high degree of tolerance towards peaceful forms of public protest, while because their public remarks are of public interest the must refrain from any xenophobic expressions.
On January 21, 2016, in a rally outside the former parliamentary building in Tbilisi citizens were protesting against prohibition of registration of right-hand-drive vehicles. According to media reports, as Tamaz Mechiauri approached the parliamentary building protesters started shouting and whistling, which prompted the MP to physically assault one of the participants named Artur Arutinov. The incident was captured by video cameras.
Equally alarming are the comments made by Tamaz Mechiauri following the incident – the MP illustrated his Anti-Armenian sentiments by saying: “I had no idea that it was Mr. Artur ... Had I known who he was, I may have [...] even harder.”
Tamaz Mechiauri’s statements and speeches are infamous for discriminatory, including homophobic and Armenophobic phrases. His sentiments towards civil sector are also unacceptable as he refers to civil society representatives as “[George] Soros-ian NGO-ers”.
We regret that recently government officials have often used hate speech against certain groups, as evidenced by NGO researches. Findings of NGO monitoring suggest that representatives of the ruling party often make anti-Western remarks and homophobic and inflammatory statements against minority groups, while the rate of hate crimes has drastically risen due to the state’s ineffective response.
We believe that Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia and the law of Georgia on Civil Service should clearly define mechanisms of disciplinary liability for discriminatory statements made by MPs or civil servants. In addition, political parties should design mechanisms of self-regulation to effectively respond to use of hate speech, xenophobic and other discriminatory remarks by their individual members.
It is the duty of government officials to promote respect towards different ethnic and religious groups in their statements. Their use of hate speech promotes hate crimes and hinders creation of a pluralistic society.
Georgian Democratic Initiative
Media Development Fund
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy
Georgian Reforms Association
Tolerance and Diversity Institute
Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center
Identoba
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Article 42 of the Constitution