At a session on January 24, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will discuss a draft resolution regarding the honoring of obligations undertaken by Georgia.
The document, which was published in December, says that “the post-revolutionary euphoria has given way to more pragmatism” in Georgia and although long-term reforms have been set “on the right track,” most reforms are still at very early stages and “major challenges still lie ahead.”
The document was developed by co-rapporteurs on Georgia Hungarian parliamentarian Matyas Eorsi and Bulgarian parliamentarian Evgeni Kirilov.
“Georgia’s progress over the last year can be regarded generally as encouraging, but it still only is a first step towards meeting its obligations and commitments,” reads the draft resolution.
The document says that after the post-revolutionary euphoria which was accompanied by a hasty, “sometimes even chaotic” approach to reforms “is very gradually being replaced by a clearer focus on priorities and by a better-defined strategy.”
The document reiterates some of the PACE’s previous calls, including revising the Constitutional changes adopted in February 2004, which, according to Council of Europe’s (CoE) Venice Commission conclusion, grant excessive powers to the President; revising the autonomous model for Adjara; lowering the 7% electoral threshold to 5%; speeding up the adoption of relevant legislation in order to create conditions for the repatriation of the Meskhetian population by 2011.
The draft notes the persisting weakness of the opposition parties and says that although some centrifuge forces have appeared within the ruling National Movement party in the Parliament, “the opposition is still weak and has not been able to come up with valid programme alternatives.”
Criticism is also voiced regarding the decision-making process for reforms, which, according to the document, “appear to be carried out by a narrow circle of like-minded leading politicians rather than by a broad configuration of people reflecting all the rich potential of the nation.”
The document notes the financial weakness of media sources in Georgia which fail “to credibly perform their role of democratic watchdog” and also criticizes them for a lack of “democratic culture.”
The draft resolution calls on the Georgian authorities to sign and ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages as well as to adopt a legal framework for the restitution of ownership and tenancy rights or compensation for the property lost during the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts “without further delay.” The deadline for meeting both of these commitments was September, 2005.
Unlike previous resolution passed by the PACE in January, 2005, the new draft resolution contains calls for the Georgian authorities “to ensure constitutional and legislative guarantees for the independence of the members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts,” as well as “to guarantee a fully transparent and democratic system of replacement of judges.”
In respect to the conflicts in the country, the draft resolution calls on all member states of the Council of Europe to become actively involved in the search for a peaceful solution of the conflicts in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“The Assembly is aware that full normalisation of the situation in Georgia is impossible without reaching a peaceful and democratic settlement of the conflicts,” the document reads.
It is most likely that the Georgian parliamentary delegation, which is led by MP Giga Bokeria, will try to focus intently on these conflicts during the debates at the PACE session on January 24.
