Twenty-nine members of the United States Congress have jointly addressed the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze with a letter, urging him to withdraw the Russian law on Foreign Agents. The congressmen have stated that if the Prime Minister does not comply, they will support the senators' initiative, which includes advocating for a change in US policy towards Georgia. This change could involve a review of financial assistance to Georgia and the imposition of visa and financial sanctions on individuals responsible for "undermining the democratic development of Georgia."
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In a letter addressed to Kobakhidze, the congressmen express deep concern over the reinitiation of the Foreign Agents bill, which they say the government rightly withdrew from consideration a year ago.
“This bill fundamentally contradicts your government's stated desire for further integration into the transatlantic community and the spirit of the 2009 US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter, which our two countries signed just months after Russian forces invaded your country.
We strongly urge your government to once again withdraw this damaging bill and recommit to expand democracy and economic freedom, protect its security and territorial integrity, uphold the rule of law and respect human rights as enshrined in the Charter.
It is clear that the pretext of the bill is to impose controls on partners who have worked alongside the Georgian people for decades to support their transatlantic integration. Simply put, the adoption of this bill undermines the will of the Georgian people, who are looking for the future in the West.
We reject the notion that this bill is drafted according to the US law. Instead, we draw your attention to the proposed bill's similarities to Vladimir Putin's 2012 anti-"foreign agents" law in Russia, also under the pretext of "transparency." As you know, since then, this law has been used by Putin to suppress opposition, ending Russia's descent into Soviet-style authoritarianism. In our belief, the Georgian people want and deserve a better, more democratic future.
The adoption of this law only allows the spread of Russia's harmful influence in Georgia,” congressmen write.
The rhetoric accompanying the Russian Law is also very troubling for American congressmen. They are particularly concerned about the anti-Western statements made by Bidzina Ivanishvili at the protest organized by Georgian Dream.
“On April 29, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former prime minister and the current honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, announced in a speech that he would "punish" the opposition for alleged crimes committed while in power and in the opposition.
In his speech, Mr. Ivanishvili also pointed out that the United States and partners in Europe were trying to undermine the sovereignty of Georgia, despite the fact that we have firmly supported the sovereignty of your country after gaining independence, after the 16-year gap, after Russia directly invaded and occupied part of Georgia in 2008. We condemn Mr. Ivanishvili's insulting and cruel statements.
Our concern has been deepened by your government's response to the peaceful protests against the re-introduction of the bill. We know about dozens of demonstrations, including American citizens who were kidnapped from the street and beaten by the police. Last week, the chairman of the opposition party, who is also an active member of your parliament, was beaten by the special forces of the government in the streets of Tbilisi.
It is interesting that the famous Russian propagandist and fascist ideologue Alexander Dugin said that "Georgia is on the right track". Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also supported the bill.
The fact that your actions were followed by condemnation from your country's closest partners and praise from the country that occupies 20% of your sovereign territory clearly indicates that you are putting Georgia on the wrong path.
The situation in Georgia is clear. The government can choose to listen to the voices of the Georgian people or continue down the dark road to Russian-style authoritarianism. We state unequivocally that choosing the latter path would result in a fundamental reassessment by the United States of the nature of our relationship.
Just as Congress addressed authoritarianism in Belarus and bipartisanly passed the Belarus Democracy Act in 2004, we stand ready to respond to further attacks on Georgia's prosperous, Euro-Atlantic future that it deserves.
Therefore, I urge you to withdraw this bill and refuse other measures that interfere with the rights and freedoms of the Georgian people, after which we will be happy to hold direct negotiations to restore and strengthen our strategic partnership. In addition,
if this damaging legislation is not repealed, we will join our colleagues in the Senate in encouraging fundamental changes in US policy towards Georgia, including a review of US financial aid, including visa expansion and financial sanctions on those, who are responsible for subversive activities for the democratic development of Georgia", reads the letter.
The appeal to Kobakhidze is bipartisan, signed by members of both the Democratic and Republican parties, including Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCauley and Europe Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Keene.
