O'Brien: Georgian Dream Denies Reality, Saying to Voters that Everything is Alright

The Assistant Secretary of State, who visited Tbilisi in May, was asked by VOA whether, after high-level meetings, engagements, or discussions, the U.S. sees any sign or hope that Georgian Dream might be ready to make changes.

"No, they deny [reality]; they don't acknowledge it. They didn’t even notice that we cut $95 million in aid. The European Union has reduced about the same amount.

The European Union also says you cannot move forward toward Europe, yet Georgian Dream is trying to tell its voters and the citizens of Georgia that everything is fine. No, everything is not fine.

Georgia wants to join the European Union, but there are clear rules. The people responsible for these rules are telling you that you made a mistake, passed a bad law, and now two more bad laws are on the verge of being drafted. All of this must stop so that the people of Georgia can achieve what they want so much," O'Brien said.

He added that the Georgian Dream leaders' promise to ban and dismantle opposition parties "was a very revealing comment and shows that this government is not capable of leading Georgia toward Europe."

"That doesn’t sound like democracy. One party does not have the right to decide which other party can compete with it. It is up to the citizens to decide which parties will receive mandates in parliament, according to fair and transparent rules," the Assistant Secretary of State added.

In his interview with Voice of America, James O'Brien emphasized the significance of the upcoming October 26 parliamentary elections and explained that implementing the Russian-style law undermines one of the essential elements required for elections to be considered free and fair.

"Yes, elections must be free and fair. It’s good that the OSCE will have the opportunity to carry out an observation mission in some parts of the country, but this organization also relies on local groups, ordinary Georgians, to ensure that citizens are registered, have the necessary knowledge to vote, show up at the right locations, and that their votes are counted. It’s all part of a broader system.

This law tries to take one leg out from this three-legged stool, and that doesn't work. Therefore, I am concerned that this means the elections will not be free and fair - or at least they won’t be perceived as such. Without this, Georgia cannot take the next step forward.

[...] We tell Georgian officials repeatedly that the transparency they claim to want is already available. All American and European organizations are transparent. There are ways to achieve this, but they’ve chosen a path that allows the Justice Ministry to control local neighborhood associations. That is not democratic, and it’s not part of Europe. We want them to return to a path that will allow the Georgian people to be part of Europe."

When asked if he was concerned about potential Russian interference or harmful influence in Georgia in the near future, James O'Brien responded that "it is up to the government."

"The government is making it harder for its own citizens to self-organize, and for Georgia’s long-standing friends in Europe and the United States to help Georgian citizens. In this environment, if the government succeeds in completely denying these groups access to resources, only Russian sources of information will remain. So, whatever may have happened before, what the government is doing now makes it much easier for Russia to dominate Georgia’s information space," O'Brien concluded.