On August 6, the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD) responded to the “negative campaign” of the Georgian Dream representatives against “Democracy Festival (DemFest)”, which was organized by the EECMD and financed by the “Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy”. GD used the event, which was attended by political parties, NGOs and other guests, to justify the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law and to accuse the Danish government of “interfering” in Georgia’s internal affairs.
The DemFest, which took place in Telavi on August 3 and is scheduled to take place in other Georgian cities throughout the month of August, was described by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as an “authoritarian festival” because of some pictures of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili displayed at the event. Speaking to journalists about the event, the Prime Minister said: “This is a wrong interference in the election process. Unfortunately, the elections are being held against a background of flagrant violations of electoral principles, although these violations will not have effect on the [election] results. …Even the foreign-funded festivals of authoritarianism cannot bring back authoritarianism in Georgia”.
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also criticized the event. He wrote on social media that it was “not surprising” that the Danish embassy did not explain how the pictures of “human torturer” Mikheil Saakashvili appeared at the Danish government-funded event, because “the Danish Embassy is accountable to its own government, not to the Georgian people.” Papuashvili noted that when a country “interferes” in internal affairs in another country, “the ethics of international cooperation say that you should feel both accountability and minimal responsibility.”
“Therefore, no one should be surprised when the Georgian people now demand, by law, the transparency of the finances and interests that influence their lives. It seems elementary,” – concluded Papuashvili.
The Eastern European Center for Multiparty Democracy in its response underlined that “the content of the said campaign does not correspond to the truth, and the attacks on the public meeting and the public “Festival of Democracy” directly reflect the spirit of the “Russian law”. The organization explains that the inspiration for the events comes from the Danish folk festival Folkemødet. The event was attended by non-governmental organizations, political parties, groups of activists, the Central Election Commission (CEC), representatives of the cultural sphere, small and medium entrepreneurs and citizens.
“We would like to emphasize that the organizers invited all political parties to the festival, including the ruling party – “Georgian Dream”. The invitation was sent to the leader of the party and the Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili 21 days before the festival, on July 6, 2024,” – notes the organization, adding that local governments were also approached with the request to hold the event in Telavi, Kutaisi and Batumi, but the local governments in Telavi and Kutaisi didn’t answer the request in time, and the request was rejected in Batumi.
“Despite the existing obstacles, after the successful festivals of Tsalenjikha and Telavi, DemFest is gaining more and more support and interest among citizens, civil sector and various partner organizations for whom democracy is important. We are sure that the “Festival of Democracy”, which has been held in European countries for decades, will soon be marked in the cultural calendar of Georgia and will be established as a tradition of celebrating democracy,” – concludes the statement.
Also Read:
- 30/07/2024 – Denmark Fully Reviews Aid to Georgia, “Will Suspend Some Planned Activities and New Programming Support”
- 26/07/2024 – Speaker Papuashvili Roasts Opponents, Frames Elections as “Choice between War and Peace”
- 13/06/2024 – Speaker Papuashvili Lambasts EU, Targets President, Opposition; Talks Elections, China
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