Opposition Demands OSCE PA President to Condition Georgia Visit
On January 5, three opposition political forces, Coalition for Change, Unity-UNM, and Strong Georgia, issued a joint letter urging Pia Kauma, the President of OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly, to condition her visit to Georgia by GD’s government committing to new elections and releasing the detained protesters.
The letter reads that “the self-proclaimed regime of Georgian Dream is solely focused on achieving international recognition of the results of the falsified elections of 26 October 2024, its illegitimate one-party ‘parliament’ and ‘president’.”
The statement further noted that the “self-proclaimed regime” of Georgian Dream “does not consider releasing political prisoners or holding new elections,” and the visit will only be deemed appropriate if it facilitates preparations for new elections and the release of political prisoners.
The fourth opposition party Gakharia for Georgia later wrote their separate letter to Pia Kauma, urging to reconsider the visit, with the party leader Giorgi Kakharia separately stating on his X account that “OSCE PA President’s visit to Tbilisi risks unintended consequences for the Georgian people’s fight for democracy and European future.”
This follows some European criticism of the planned visit. On January 4, Richard Kohl, a Latvian Member of the European Parliament (MEP), wrote on X (formerly Twitter) about Kauma’s scheduled visit to Georgia on January 8-10, calling it “a disastrous and ill-timed move.” “Such a visit would hand the regime a propaganda victory, legitimizing an autocracy-in-the-making while critically undermining oscepa’s credibility,” Kohl argued. Rasa Juknevičienė, a Lithuanian MEP, also wrote about Kauma’s visit, saying it would only be “useful for Bidzina Ivanishvili, for the recognition of the state capture scheme created by him.”
This news was updated on Jan 6, 14:00 to include information on Gakharia for Georgia letter.
Also Read:
- 23/12/2024 – OSCE Members Invoke Vienna Mechanism on Situation in Georgia
- 16/12/2024 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Leaders Condemn Violence Against Protesters in Georgia
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