White Noise Meet MIA to Discuss Changes to Drug Laws

This morning, representatives of the NGO White Noise Movement met with officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find a compromise for revamping drug laws in Georgia. The meeting comes in response to the tensions of last night's rally in front of the Parliament building, at which ultra-right activists attempted to break through police barricades in order to attack the participants at the drug liberalization demonstration.

After the protest leaders refused to evacuate the Rustaveli area to ease tensions, the Minister of Internal Affairs spoke directly to the NGO to propose negotiations on Monday morning. Following the conversation, the organizers agreed to evacuate under the protection of the police.

Beka Tsikarishvili, one of the organizers, believes the evacuation was the most reasonable thing to do, but reiterates the NGO’s determination to reassume demonstrations next Saturday if talks don’t lead to an acceptable outcome this week.

"First of all, we should agree on a format. We must also select a team to negotiate on our behalf. We need specific people to have the legitimacy to speak for the community. This is important to get the trust of society," explained Tsikarishvili when asked about the goal of the negotiations.

"We’ve already made a serious compromise to avoid an escalation, but we cannot compromise anything else. I think it was the right decision to stop the protest. I couldn’t allow a confrontation," he said.

By Benjamin Music

Image source: White Noise Movement facebook