Joe Wilson, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, along with Steve Cohen, a Democratic Congressman and the leading member of the Helsinki Commission, issued a statement regarding recent developments in Georgia.
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They express their solidarity with the Georgian people who continue to peacefully protest to save their democracy and European future in the face of brutal government repression.
“On Thursday, Georgians took to the streets in Tbilisi and across the country to speak out against the Georgian Dream (GD) party’s stated decision to suspend European Union accession. Those peaceful protests were met with extreme violence. We condemn this response in the harshest terms possible.
There is a compelling body of evidence showing that the Georgian Dream government manipulated the country’s October elections to preserve their grip on power and again deny the Georgian people’s unequivocal aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration.
Earlier this week, GD seated a new government amid a full opposition boycott and without presidential sanction, in contravention of Georgia’s constitution. Thus, this de-facto government is illegitimate.
We stand with the Georgian people and call on both the current and incoming administrations to commit to supporting Georgians in their fight to restore democracy and freedom to their country.
The U.S. State Department must take steps to punish those responsible for violating Georgians’ right to protest peacefully and elect their leaders,” states the statement published on the Helsinki Commission's website.
On November 28, the illegitimate Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced that Georgia would not place the issue of opening accession negotiations on the agenda until the end of 2028 and would refuse EU budget grants. Protests against this decision are taking place in Tbilisi and other regions.
