On March 13, the IPN news agency released MP Levan Bezhashvili’s statement according to which Mr. Bezhashvili stated the following at the session of the Parliament Bureau: "after it became known that the phone conversation between Gigi Ugulava and his daughter had been secretly recorded, non-governmental organizations launched their campaign and Parliament should start discussing the relevant project in a timely manner." The statement further says that following Mr Bezhashvili’s initiative the Parliament Bureau has made a decision to hold the project's first hearing by 5 April, 2014.
We would like to once again explain to the public as well as the lawmakers that the resumption of ‘This Affects You Too’ campaign was preconditioned by the refusal of the current government’s executive branch to dispose of the surveillance and eavesdropping system set up by the previous government. It is public knowledge that, as a result of the above vicious practices, numerous footages depicting scenes from private life have been unveiled in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
At the same time, we would also like to comment that the launch of the campaign is by no means related to any singular instance (including Tbilisi Mayor’s private conversation with his daughter). The problem is much wider and concerns the public at large. Protecting human rights is important for all organizations involved in the campaign since the current legislation and the existing malicious practice do not allow for an effective monitoring and proper regulation of the activities of the investigative bodies. Consequently, the risks that any person can become a victim of illegal tapping or surveillance still linger.
The fact that the UNM representatives acknowledge and publicly criticise wrongful practices introduced during their own rule can only be appriciated. However, we would like to call on the lawmakers and, in this particular case, the UNM members to avoid gaining political capital by exploiting the current process.
‘This Affects You Too’ campaign does not support the interests of any political group. Therefore, any attempt by any political group to portray the situation in this light can only serve the purpose of discrediting the process. We, subsequently, condemn all possible attempts by politicians to make use of the current campaign for their own benefit as categorically unacceptable.
