Joe Wilson Urges OSCE Secretary General to Postpone Planned Visit to Georgia
U.S. Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson urged OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu to postpone his planned visit to Georgia next week, warning, “Meetings with high-level Georgian Dream officials will only serve to legitimize their positions and recent government actions.”
Rep. Wilson recalls the OSCE conclusions on the 2024 general elections in Georgia, which he says call into question the legitimacy of the GD government. He adds that since the October elections, the ruling party officials have waged a “brutal campaign of violence” against protesters and the opposition. He also points to recently adopted controversial amendments to the law that require foreign donors to obtain executive approval before disbursing grants to local organizations and other amendments that tighten restrictions on political parties, as foreign funding for CSOs and media in Georgia is already heavily controlled.
“If you proceed with meetings in Tbilisi next week, you will send a message that you – and potentially the OSCE – endorse the Georgian Dream government and its anti-democratic actions,” Rep. Wilson warns in his letter, adding, “Even if not your intention, all past indications are that Georgian Dream would intentionally portray the visit as an explicit endorsement of their agenda.”
“I ask that you postpone your visit to Georgia until and unless there is an improvement in the situation, consistent with OSCE and ODIHR’s prior statements on elections, foreign agents laws, and treatment of protesters,” he concludes.
OSCE Secretary General Sinirlioğlu’s visit to Tbilisi is planned as part of his regional visit to South Caucasus countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, next week.
Joe Wilson, a staunch critic of the Georgian Dream, is a co-sponsor of the MEGOBARI Act in the U.S. Senate, which, if passed, would require the U.S. president to sanction GD officials and their enablers. In return, the bill provides assistance to civil society and the people of Georgia.
Georgian civil society, President Salome Zurabishvili and the main opposition parties don’t recognize the legitimacy of the disputed October 26 parliamentary elections, and thus the GD parliament, government and GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, and call for the new free and fair elections. They have also expressed concern that Georgian Dream is instrumentalizing visits and meetings with foreign officials for its own authoritarian goals.
In early January, OSCE PA President Pia Kauma cancelled her planned visit to Georgia after she received calls from President Salome Zurabishvili, Georgian opposition forces, and U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, who warned that her visit could be manipulated by the Georgian Dream, which is seeking legitimacy.
Earlier, in December 2024, top representative of another international organization – Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset was harshly criticized by President Zurabishvili, the opposition and civil society after he visited Tbilisi, and following the negotiations with GD top representatives, including GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, unexpectedly announced about the plans to create joint commission to review the Foreign Agents’ law.
The four main opposition forces have consequently issued a joint statement urging the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Committee of Ministers to take action regarding the issue of integrity of actions of Alain Berset during his visit to Georgia and schedule public debates on whether Berset’s actions align with the founding principles of the Council of Europe.
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