18 November 2014
Civil society organizations involved in the “This Affects You Too: They Are Still Listening” campaign are alarmed by the attitude that Georgian Parliament has taken towards addressing the issue of direct access to secret wiretapping.
Parliament has two weeks left to adopt the law that will determine which system of direct access to secret surveillance the country will select and who will hold the so called “keys” to secret surveillance. However, in spite of the official appeals made by the NGOs and members of the special working group set up under the law to organize a meeting, Georgian Parliament is in no hurry to convene it. This prompts us to think that the issue will not be resolved within the prescribed time limits.
Importantly, the President justified using his veto on October 31, 2014, by the necessity to resolve this exactly issue in the shortest possible time. While addressing Parliament, The Chairman of the Parliament also emphasized that the government was supposed to resolve the problems concerning secret wiretapping a long time ago.
Based on the above, the NGOs involved in the “This Affects You Too: They Are Still Listening” campaign appeal to the government to act promptly and take a political decision regarding the issue of direct access to secret surveillance. We also call on Parliament to call a meeting of the special parliamentary group in the shortest period of time to resume work in this direction and come up with a final decision ensuring the protection of the right to privacy of every citizen in this country.
