The leaders of the Coalition for Change will not meet with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, who is currently in Tbilisi. As per the coalition's statement, the Georgian Dream is using Berset's visit for propaganda purposes and attempting to mislead the public by suggesting that their legitimacy is recognized in Europe.
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Elene Khoshtaria, the chairwoman of the coalition party Droa, considers it a mistake that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, whose primary mandate is human rights, does not meet with political prisoners or visit prisons. Zurab Girchi Japaridze, the leader of Girchi - More Freedom, also criticizes Alain Berset for this.
"A representative of any structure who comes to this country today should: a) see the suffering people and listen to their stories; b) visit the prisons, meet with political prisoners, and hear their stories; c) walk along Rustaveli at least once in the evening and talk to the people standing there in the cold. Especially when you are here for several days and not just for a 2-3 hour visit," Japaridze wrote on Facebook.
Alain Berset is meeting separately with opposition parties. He has already held meetings today with representatives of the Unity - National Movement and Strong Georgia.
“This is not a visit that will address elections or the legitimacy of the government. I think Mr. Berset himself will state this openly,” said Tina Bokuchava, chairwoman of the Unity - National Movement. She noted that the issue of releasing citizens illegally detained during protests was raised during the meeting.
“They are here because Georgia has been a member of the Council of Europe for 25 years and should be part of the European family, not because of what the Georgian Dream is promoting, as if they have been legitimized. It was directly and emphatically stated that they are here because the processes taking place in Georgia cause enormous concern,” said Badri Japaridze, leader of Strong Georgia.
Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, arrived in Georgia on December 18 and has already met with the Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the illegitimate Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maka Bochorishvili, the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, the Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, and representatives of the international community. Meetings with civil society are also planned.
The heads of the Directorates General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, as well as for Democracy and Human Dignity, are also in Tbilisi with Alain Berset.
