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Day: October 9, 2024
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The News And Times Review…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) October 9, 2024
On October 9, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “On democratic backsliding and threats to political pluralism in Georgia” with 495 votes in favor, 73 against and 86 abstentions.
Among others, the resolution calls for a freeze of EU funds to the Georgian government until it repeals the anti-democratic legislation, for sanctions against Georgian Dream Honorary Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili, and for an assessment of Georgia’s fulfillment of visa liberalization benchmarks. It calls for “strict conditions to be placed on the disbursement of any future funding to the Georgian Government.”
The resolution also deals extensively with the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia and reiterates the EU’s “unwavering support” for the people of Georgia and their European aspirations.
Key Provisions
The resolution calls for a freeze of all EU funding to the Georgian government until undemocratic laws are repealed, including the Foreign Agents Law and the anti-LGBT law. It strongly condemns the mentioned legislation and regrets that “Georgia, once a champion of democratic progress with Euro-Atlantic aspirations, has been in a democratic backsliding free fall for a considerable period.”
The resolution reiterates its call on the European Commission to assess the impact of Georgia’s actions, including the adoption of anti-democratic legislation, on the country’s continued fulfillment of the visa liberalization benchmarks, in particular the fundamental rights’ benchmark, which it underlines is a crucial component of the EU’s visa liberalization policy.
The resolution calls Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the ruling party, an “oligarch” and deplores his personal role in Georgia’s current political crisis and in yet another attempt to undermine the country’s Euro-Atlantic orientation in favor of a pivot to Russia. The European Parliament reiterates its call on the European Council and the EU’s democratic partners “to impose immediate and targeted personal sanctions on Ivanishvili for his role in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia.”
Furthermore, the European Parliament calls on the EU and the bloc’s member states “to hold to account and impose personal sanctions on all those responsible for undermining democracy in Georgia, who are complicit in the violence committed against political opponents and peaceful protesters and who spread anti-Western disinformation.”
While expressing “deep concern” about the increased influence of Russia on Georgia, including through increased immigration from Russia and increased trade ties between the two countries, the European Parliament calls on the Georgian government “to impose sanctions against Russia in response to its war of aggression against Ukraine.” It also calls on the government “to continue its previous policy of non-recognition of the occupied territories and honor its commitment to enforce effective measures to avoid the circumvention of European sanctions.” The resolution encourages the Georgian government “to align fully with the EU’s foreign policy and the EU’s strategy towards Russia.”
The resolution strongly reiterates its “urgent demand” for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Georgian ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili so that he can seek medical treatment abroad.
On the October Elections
The resolution urges the Georgian authorities to ensure that the October parliamentary elections meet the highest international standards and are held in a free, fair, and transparent manner to reflect the will of the people. The European Parliament urges Georgian authorities “to take all necessary measures to ensure that all respected civil society organizations involved in election observation can observe these elections without hindrance or interference in their work.”
It also addresses the recent attack on TI-Georgia and the Vote for Europe movement, stressing that creating obstacles for them is an attempt to undermine democracy in the country. Although the Anti-Corruption Bureau later reversed its decision to declare these two organizations as “political actors with declared electoral objectives” at the request of the government, the resolution notes that the initial decision still raises concerns about the Bureau’s political neutrality.
The resolution also expresses alarm that “despite numerous requests from the Georgian diaspora,” only a limited number of polling stations will be opened abroad for Georgian emigrants to exercise their right to vote in an unhindered manner.
The resolution deplores the Georgian Dream’s use of Ukrainian war images “as a means of manipulating opinions and spreading disinformation and pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian sentiment in its campaign.”
The resolution expects Georgian Dream to respect the will and free choice of the Georgian people in the elections and to ensure a “peaceful transfer of power.” It also calls on GD leaders to end violence, intimidation, hate speech, persecution, and repression against the opposition, civil society, and independent media.
The European Parliament “strongly believes that the upcoming elections will be decisive in determining Georgia’s future democratic development and geopolitical choice, as well its ability to make progress with its EU member state candidacy; recognizes that it is still possible to consolidate Georgia’s democratic future as an EU candidate country with a young, engaged generation of leaders, which was exemplified by the spontaneous protests against the foreign agent law that took place during 2024.”
In addition, the resolution reiterates the Council’s unwavering support for the people of Georgia and their European aspirations. It emphasizes that the European Council’s decision last year to grant Georgia candidate status “was motivated by the wish to acknowledge the achievements and democratic efforts of Georgia’s civil society, as well as the overwhelming support for EU accession among its citizens, with over 80% of the Georgian people consistently in favour.” It also appreciates the efforts of President Salome Zurabishvili to put the country back on a democratic and pro-European path.
The European Parliament’s resolutions are not binding, but their recommendations can be taken into account by EU decision-makers.
Even before the resolution was adopted, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili condemned the draft, calling it “outrageous,” “shameful,” and “disgusting” for its calls for sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, for sanctions against Russia and for the release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
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The Communications Commission upheld complaint filed by the Georgian Dream and recognized the opposition-leaning Mtavari TV, TV Pirveli and Formula as violators of the Electoral Code of Georgia issuing them with a protocol of administrative violations. The matter relates to the complaint received by ComCom that these channels did not broadcast GD’s political advertisements.
According to ComCom’s press release, Mtavari TV, TV Pirveli and Formula TV have submitted letters of response stating that they refuse to broadcast GD’s political advertisement because it is unethical and contains war propaganda that incites national strife and intimidates voters with war.
Georgian Dream’s new political ad is based on its campaign banners, which juxtapose war-torn Ukraine with the “peace” offered by the GD and aim, reinforcing the GD’s war-against-peace campaign pillar. The banners showed the devastation brought by Russia’s war in Ukraine on one side and similar locations in “peaceful” Georgia on the other. The slogan is “Say no to war – Choose peace,” and the party numbers of the main opposition coalitions are crossed out on the grim, “war” side of the poster.
ComCom notes that, according to the Supreme Court of Georgia, it is prohibited to broadcast political advertising that contains propaganda for war and violence, calls for the change or overthrow of the existing authorities and violently disrupts public order, calls for the violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia, causes national discord and enmity, and incites religious and ethnic conflicts. According to ComCom, the unethical nature of advertising, by the practice established by the Supreme Court of Georgia, is not the subject of the broadcaster’s assessment, and therefore ComCom concludes that the broadcaster’s refusal to place political advertising on this basis is a violation of the law.
ComCom goes on to say that “based on Georgian legislation and court practice, the Communications Commission considers that the video ad does not contain either war propaganda or an incitement to national strife and enmity, as cited by the broadcasters.” Therefore, ComCom states, that “the ad does not violate the Electoral Code of Georgia” and “the broadcasters were obliged to broadcast the GD’s electoral ad.”
Also Read:
- 13/09/2024 – ComCom Upholds GD’s Two Appeals Against Opposition TV Channels
- 12/09/2024 – ComCom Fines Mtavari TV for Not Airing Georgian Dream’s Political Ad
- 11/09/2024 – ComCom Issues Violation Protocol to Mtavari TV for Not Airing Georgian Dream’s Political Ad
- 25/08.2024 – ComCom Warns Opposition Channel Over “Negative Portrayal” of MPs Who Voted for Agents’ Law
On October 9, the EU Foreign and Security Policy Lead Spokesperson Peter Stano called on Georgian leaders to “avoid any form of harsh rhetoric and disinformation” against the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczyński, in response to Formula TV‘s question.
“The EU Ambassador in Tbilisi represents the EU position and conveys the EU’s expectations to the Georgian partners. The Ambassador has the full support and trust of the EU. We reiterate our call on Georgian political leaders to avoid any form of harsh rhetoric and disinformation, and work constructively towards addressing polarization in the country,” stressed Spokesperson Stano.
The “harsh rhetoric” against the EU Ambassador that Stano refers to accelerated after his comment on Georgian Dream’s new campaign banners, which juxtapose war-torn Ukraine with the “peace” offered by the GD and aim, reinforcing the GD’s war-against-peace campaign pillar. The Ambassador called GD’s banners “outrageous,” “shameful,” and “disgusting.” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili deemed the comments as evidence of “interference in the electoral process” and called them “hypocritical”.
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