Parliamentarian Against the Detention of Street Vendors

Parliamentarian Against the Detention of Street Vendors

Tbilisi 21.03.05. Media-News. The chairman of the Parliamentary monetary-budgetary committee, Roman Gotsiridze, has opposed the draft prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on making amendments to the “Code of Administrative Tort” concerning illegal street trade.

At a meeting with the parliamentary faction "Magoritarebi," Gotsiridze, in the role of candidate for the presidency of the National Bank, voiced his thoughts about the proposed changes.  He pointed out that the amendments prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs puts stricter sanctions on illegal street trade, and that street vendors found to be in violation of the law would face a 30 day detention period.

“It is nonsense,” Gotsiridze explained, “because if in the past they caught people by putting marijuana in their pockets, now they will do the same with cigarettes. It’s true, there is an alternative which calls for a detention period of up to seven days, but this measure will also be ineffective. It will only lead to the infringement of human rights.”