Government Publishes Letter Sent to PM Gakharia by US Congressmen
The administrative Government of Georgia has released a letter to the public, sent by four US Congressmen to Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia.
The letter is initialed by Adam Kinzinger, Gerry Connolly, Michael McCaul and Eliot Engel.
The Republican Congressman and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Adam Kinzinger wrote about the letter on twitter.
As Kinzinger underscored, the Congressmen directed the letter to the Georgian Prime Minister "with grave concerns over political targeting and a declining economic trend that spells trouble for Georgia’s path towards democratic reform and Western integration.”
The letter informs that the 2020 elections must be held legitimately and without any interference. It also draws attention to the Facebook scandal in which the Georgian Dream government was involved.
“As Georgia moves toward the 2020 parliamentary elections under Georgian Dream’s leadership, we continue to encourage you to protect the legitimacy of these elections and ensure they are guarded against both internal and external interference. In your response letter, dated December 17, 2019, you pledged that the 2020 elections would be held to the highest standards. Yet, recent reports indicate that Facebook had to shut down an extensive network of accounts funded by the Georgian Dream. The fact that these accounts were apparently spreading anti-democratic, anti-Western sentiment is simply unacceptable,” the letter reads.
The letter similarly mentions the business environment in Georgia, specifically the Anaklia Deep Sea Port Consortium, which has faced serious problems regarding its funding and investments from abroad.
“Decreased foreign investment not only hurts the Georgian people and their hopes for deeper integration with Western institutions, but it also strengthens Vladimir Putin’s hand in the region,” the letter reads.
The Congressmen observed as well that these questionable developments seem to mirror a gradually hostile business environment and could dissuade future US investments in Georgia.
Furthermore, the letter accentuates critical judicial difficulties, such as the open pursuasion of leading opposition political leaders, journalists, international corporations and civil society members.
“We are troubled by reports that prosecutors appointed by Georgian Dream are reopening old legal cases against the party’s opponents. While some of these cases may have merits, others are perceived as targeting leading opposition political leaders, news operators, international corporations, and civil society members. Respect for the rule of law and an impartial justice system are key to a healthy democracy and to ensuring the free and fair elections which were guaranteed by your party,” reads the formal letter.
By Beka Alexishvili