A group of former U.S. national security officials, diplomats and Georgia experts, have expressed concerns over escalating repression and democratic decline in Georgia under the Georgian Dream-led government.
In an open letter signed by 17 individuals, the group condemns violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters in Tbilisi and urges the U.S. government to take decisive measures. The letter highlights concerns over Georgia’s withdrawal from European Union accession talks, a decision “praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, within minutes of the announcement”. It also criticizes authoritarian policies, including restrictions on NGOs, attacks on civil society, and flawed parliamentary elections. “The authorities in Tbilisi who have put in place these authoritarian policies, and their agents, are seeking personal advantage,” the letter states.
The group urges the U.S., officials to implement several policy measures, including: “to withhold recognition of the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections”, “similarly withhold recognition of the new parliament and re-establishment of a Georgian Dream government” and “support President Salome Zourabichvili’s efforts to bring about new, free and fair elections, under a new Central Election Commission”.
The letter also calls for sanctions to be imposed on key Georgian officials, “Georgian Dream de facto leader Bidzina Ivanishvili and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze”, as well as “police and military officers involved in the crackdown on peaceful protesters and the shenanigans in the conduct of the parliamentary elections”.
“Georgia as a beacon of freedom and reform is at stake,” the letter stresses, calling for joint U.S.-EU action to ensure the effectiveness of assistance to the Georgian people.
The letter was signed by:
- Amb. Robert F. Cekuta – Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
- Luke Coffey – Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
- Amb. Paula Dobriansky – Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
- Dr. Evelyn Farkas – Executive Director of the McCain Institute; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia
- Amb. Daniel Fried – Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia
- Amb. John E. Herbst – Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan
- Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.) – Former Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
- Amb. Richard Kauzlarich – Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan
- Amb. Ian Kelly – Former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia
- David J. Kramer – Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights & Labor
- Laura Linderman – Senior Fellow and Director of Programs, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the American Foreign Policy Council
- Amb. Richard Morningstar – Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and the EU
- Amb. Stephen Sestanovich – Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for the Former Soviet Union; Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
- Amb. William Taylor – Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
- Laura Thornton – Senior Director, Global Democracy Programs, McCain Institute; former head of National Democratic Institute, Georgia
- Amb. Alexander Vershbow – Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Russia
- Amb. Kurt Volker – Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO; former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations
- Amb. Kenneth Yalowitz – Former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia and Belarus
- Amb. Marie Yovanovitch – Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan
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