"Freedom Charter" restricts Georgian citizens' freedom, oppositionists assert

On March 25, the parliamentary committee for legislation of Georgia held discussion of the bill "Freedom Charter", presented by Giya Tortladze, leader of the oppositional faction "Strong Georgia". As a matter of fact, the Charter unites two legal documents: "Law on Lustration" and the so-called "Patriotic Act". In Mr Tortladze's opinion, currently both documents are equally important for Georgia's safety.

"Our bill is not a calque of the bill passed in the USA in 2002, after the air attack on the buildings of the World Trade Centre. We don't assume any legalizations of telephone tapping, e-mail checking, searches without prosecutor's warrant, or detention of suspicious people without respective evidences. The only thing we imply is to strengthen the counterterrorist regime," said Giya Tortladze for "Tavisupleba" Radio.

In particular, according to his story, the document stipulates the procedure of defending the conventional borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and careful examination of all the cargoes entering Georgia. "It means that every container will pass through detector to define what is there inside: foodstuffs, economic goods, or trotyl," Tortladze explained and added that security of strategic objects will be strengthened and transfers of essential money sums will be monitored.

Nika Laliashvili, a deputy from the faction of Christian Democrats, said that hardly the society would welcome the law. "Its basic aim is to legalize lawlessness of police and special services," Mr Laliashvili told Radio Liberty.

Lawyer Gela Nikoleishvili, representing the organization named "Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that, most likely, the Charter is directed towards persecuting political opponents.

Georgiy Burdzhanadze, representing the NGO "Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia", said that in fact the bill breaks human rights. In particular, the law ignores the right to confidentiality, as no criteria are formulated under which the state gives out information about its citizen or requests this information from non-state sources.

At last, in Mr Burdzhanadze's opinion, the provision of the Charter, which obliges citizens and financial institutions to give out data about financial activities of this or that person, is absolutely illegal.

Deputy Niko Laliashvili expressed his bewilderment with the "Law on Lustration": "If we had passed this law at least 10 years ago, as all the countries of Eastern Europe did, it would have had huge resonance; and many goals could have been achieved. But today, many former employees of KGB and Communist Party leaders are either pensioners or retires from business, or just died," he said. Besides, as he believes, this law will have no value for those who had suffered from the KGB.

"In Germany, for example, a special law was passed, separately from lustration; and only after that people could get acquainted with the cases opened against them under secret denunciations. However, the 'Law on Lustration' does no assume it," Mr Laliashvili explained to the "Caucasian Knot".

"Such law is really a must," Mr Tortladze insisted. "Today, certain persons, who had worked for the KGB and who can continue working on Russian special services, strive to take the power. And we need some levers to stop them," he added.

Nino Chogushvili said on air of the "Echo of the Caucasus" Radio back in December 2009 that the lustration bill in Georgia differed in much from its European prototypes. In particular, the Charter assumes that a lustrated person should lose his/her lifelong chance to take a state post, although in other countries there is "quarantine" - 10 years, and then the restriction is lifted.