At today's plenary session of the Parliament of Georgia, an argument and clash took place between opposition and pro-government MPs during the discussion of the Defense Code. It provides for compulsory military service for students. Until now, students could postpone the service until graduation, but under the new draft, they will have to take a deferment from the university or combine their studies with the service. If passed, the bill will enter into force in 2025, RIA Novosti reports.
The dispute started in the parliament between the opposition deputy Tariel Nakaidze and Sozar Subari, a member of the People's Power movement, who left the ranks of the ruling party and formed an anti-Western movement, after which other deputies also got involved in the incident.
The situation escalated so much that first the deputy of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Viktor Japaridze, hit Nakaidze with a microphone placed on the parliament table, and then another government deputy, Levan Mgaloblishvili, threw the microphone in the direction of the same opposition deputy.
According to reports, the situation was exacerbated by the statement of deputies of the People's Power movement. They called the opposition colleagues sitting on the opposite side ‘agents’.
