During a meeting with American Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Congressman Mike Turner, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze requested that the U.S. cease funding civil society organizations in Georgia that may be critical of the ruling party. Senator Shaheen revealed this in an interview with the National Journal, a claim that Kobakhidze has called a lie.
News
Trending stories
- 1 Protests Erupt in Abkhazia Over Russia-Favored Law, Opposition Members Arrested
- 2 Edison: 13% Discrepancy Between Exit Polls and CEC Results Suggests Manipulation
- 3 Kobakhidze: German Chancellor Should Be More Concerned About His Own Problems
- 4 US-Sanctioned Russian Propagandist Present in Georgia During Elections
- 5 President’s Lawsuit on Elections Registered by Constitutional Court
- 6 Judge of Tetritskaro Annuls Results of 30 Precincts Over Vote Secrecy Violations
According to the senator, representatives of Georgian Dream claim that the law on agents is about transparency, that they want to monitor what is happening, "but in reality, that’s not the case."
"It’s about clamping down on civil society. It’s about opposing any dissent at all.
One thing that the prime minister said to us when we met with him - we were talking about the relationship with the United States and our concern about the deterioration of the relationship and the unwillingness of the Georgian Dream government to address the concerns that have been expressed - and his one request was that we stop funding all civil society organizations that might be critical of the Georgian Dream government.
Congressman Turner was very clear. He said, “That’s what a democracy is about.” It’s not about shutting down dissent and disagreement. It’s about recognizing that there will be criticism of what you do. That’s part of what a democracy is about.
So it’s even more distressing to see that since our visit, the government is talking about disbanding all opposition parties.
They’re basically talking about becoming an autocracy. They want to be a dictatorship, not a democracy," Shaheen said.
The senator noted that the U.S. has raised concerns about the law since it was first introduced: "It mirrors a similar law that was passed in Russia that led to the exodus of so many civil society groups from Russia. And we’re seeing the same thing happen in Georgia. [...] it’s hard to understand why the country is mirroring Russian laws when the Russian Federation is occupying 20 percent of its territory and it’s encroaching more and more on Georgian territory."
Irakli Kobakhidze denies the senator's statement regarding the funding of civil society organizations.
"I did not say such a thing at the meeting. This is a plain, blatant lie, and it saddens me that such a falsehood is framed by someone who holds the very high position of a United States senator. This is extremely sad and disturbing," said the Prime Minister.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Congressman Mike Turner, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, visited Georgia in August. They met with President Salome Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, and Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, declined to meet with Senator Shaheen and Congressman Turner.
