Sen. Shaheen: GD Wants Georgia to Be a Dictatorship, Not a Democracy
The United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) reiterated U.S. concerns about developments in Georgia, the Foreign Agent’s Law, October elections and ruling Georgian Dream party’s promise to ban opposition parties in an interview for National Journal published September 6.
During the interview, the Senator Shaheen was asked about the adopted – and highly criticized by the U.S. – Foreign Agent’s Law. She noted that the U.S. has been expressing its concerns about the law since it was first introduced a year ago, and that the visits to Georgia during which she and her colleagues met with Georgian civil society groups proved that the concern is also prominent there.
“What we heard from those groups is their concern that they will not be able to operate in the country after this law [is implemented]. It mirrors a similar law that was passed in Russia that led to the exodus of so many civil society groups from Russia. And we’re seeing the same thing happen in Georgia,” noted the Senator, adding: “We’ve also heard from the [European Union] that the law is not consistent with the EU’s requirements for membership, so it has raised real red flags in terms of Georgia’s application for candidacy within the EU.”
The Senator Shaheen also noted that during meetings with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and representatives of the GD, they explained the reason for adoption of the law as “transparency”. “But that’s not really what’s going on. It’s about clamping down on civil society. It’s about opposing any dissent at all,” stated the Senator.
She added that during the meeting with the Prime Minister, where the conversation centered around the U.S.-Georgian “deteriorating” relations and the “unwillingness of the Georgian Dream government to address the concerns that have been expressed,” PM Kobakhidze conveyed the request to the U.S. side “to stop funding all civil society organizations that might be critical of the Georgian Dream government.” She stressed the US side’s message to Kobakhidze was that democracy “is not about shutting down dissent and disagreement. It’s about recognizing that there will be criticism of what you do.” That’s part of what a democracy is about.”
Senator Shaheen noted: “It’s even more distressing to see that since our visit, the government is talking about disbanding all opposition parties. They’re basically talking about becoming an autocracy. They want to be a dictatorship, not a democracy.”
The Senator was also asked how concerned the U.S. is about the upcoming elections in October, to which she responded that the Georgian government continues to move “toward backsliding on their democracy,” which is inconsistent with what Georgians want.
She further noted that it’s hard to see how Georgia will remain a democratic country if the elections are not free and fair, a concern she raised during the high-level meetings. Although GD representatives have repeatedly claimed that their goal is to keep these elections free and fair, the Senator notes that “every statement that seems to be coming out of the government is not consistent with that.”
Senator Shaheen also spoke about her visit to the occupation line near the occupied region of Tskhinvali. She noted that visiting this place, talking to people who have faced hardships because of the occupation and have no real benefits, especially in health care, as well as talking to students in Gori who told her about the struggle of having a family divided due to the occupation line between them, all made her wonder again why Georgia is “mirroring Russian laws” when 20% of its territory is occupied by Russia.
“I appreciate that Georgia is in a difficult geography. But it’s hard to understand why they think their future is going to lie with Russia when Russia is occupying their territory. And what we heard is real concern about the potential for Russia to take even more territory,” stressed the Senator.
Regarding the $95 million in U.S. assistance to the Georgian government that was suspended in May, Senator Shaheen noted that “there is an assessment going on now about [the U.S.] policy toward the Georgian government”. She noted that whether the funding will be resumed will depend on the results of the assessment. Commenting on the canceled military exercises, she said: “It’s hard for us to be able to justify bringing troops in and doing military exercises with a government that’s claiming the United States is trying to overthrow your government.”
“You have this conspiracy theory that the United States is trying to overthrow the government. We don’t want to do anything that’s going to contribute to that conspiracy theory,” she added.
Lastly, Senator Shaheen discussed the Georgian People’s Act, a bipartisan bill put forward by her. She noted: “There are a number of provisions from the bill that are in the [annual National Defense Authorization Act], so our hope is that the major provisions, including the sanctions, are going to go forward. We’re waiting to get sign-off from the banking committee on the sanctions provisions that are there.”
“We’re very concerned about this foreign-agents law and other efforts to tamp down civil society. We’re concerned about whether this is going to be a free and fair election, and we’re concerned about what appears to be an orchestrated effort on the part of the Georgian Dream to go after dissidents who don’t agree with the policies of the government,” emphasized the Senator, adding: “We spoke with a number of people who had been beaten because they were willing to speak out against the government. We’re hearing, on a number of fronts, real concern about what this government is doing and their repression of their citizens.”
Also Read:
- 13/08/2024 – Senator Shaheen, Congressman Turner Call for Free, Fair Parliamentary Elections in Georgia
- 12/08/2024 – Reactions to visit of Senator Shaheen and Congressman Turner to Georgia
- 11/08/2024 – Senator Shaheen, Congressman Turner Talk U.S.-Georgia Relations, Elections, GD Disinformation
- 01/08/2024 – Risch, Shaheen Welcome State Department Pausing U.S. Bilateral Assistance to Georgia
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
