On December 18 the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset began his official visit to Georgia. Noting that the mission “takes place in a political and social context marked by strong tensions, extreme polarisation of the political debate and acts of violence in recent weeks” the CoE press release about the visit says that it aims “to ensure the conditions for continued co-operation between the Council of Europe and Georgia, in full compliance with the Organisation’s values and principles.” The GD has used the fact of the visit to assert the legitimacy of its government following the disputed parliamentary elections.
The press release issued prior to the visit says that “in the current tense and worrying context, the Council of Europe calls on all parties to avoid any escalation of tensions.” The Council of Europe further “urges the authorities to refrain from the disproportionate use of force and to respect fundamental freedoms, in particular freedom of expression and assembly.”
The press release also notes that Secretary General “welcomes yesterday’s release of Nika Gvaramia and Aleko Elisashvili, whom he plans to meet with other opposition and civil society members.” The official press release makes no mention of other meetings.
However, the ruling Georgian Dream has used the visit to claim the legitimacy of its rule following the disputed Parliamentary elections of October 26, announcing Berset’s visit with GD PM Irakli Kobakhidze. The party’s executive secretary Mamuka Mdinaradze said on the morning of December 18: “The questioning of legitimacy [of the GD government] that has been going on cannot continue because the Secretary General of the Council of Europe is meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia and other officials. As we know, there will also be a meeting with the elected president. Maybe the ex-president too, I don’t know… In any case, this is where the question of legitimacy ends”.
The Secretary General is accompanied by the Director General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, and the Director General for Democracy and Human Dignity.
Meeting with the GD Prime Minister
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that he had a “very friendly, productive” meeting with CoE Secretary General Berset and that the parties agreed to continue “close cooperation”. He stressed the importance of Berset’s visit, saying that the discussion during the meeting focused on the situation in Georgia and cooperation between the country and the Council of Europe.
“We have had a very close cooperation since the 1990s. It is in our interest to continue this cooperation as actively as possible. The personal role of the Secretary General is special in this regard, and we are confident that our country will receive the personal support of Mr. Alain Berset in all directions,” Kobakhidze said.
Alain Berset shared after the meeting with GD PM Kobakhidze that after meeting with him and the GD’s Parliament Speaker Papuashvili, he is looking forward to meet GD’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Meeting with GD’s Parliament Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili
During the meeting with Alain Berset, Papuashvili discussed “the ongoing protest rallies in Georgia and provided a chronology of the violent protests,” as announced by the Parliament’s Press Service. “The parties underscored the significance of the opposition’s engagement in parliamentary activities as an integral part of democratic processes,” the announcement added. It further noted that both sides expressed their commitment to continuing cooperation “on the basis of an open dialogue.”
Meeting with Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani
Based on the Public Defender’s press service, Ioseliani met with Alain Berset. According to their statement, “the parties spoke about the current developments in the country, political polarization, the cases of ill-treatment of protesters by law enforcement officers, and the situation of freedom of assembly and expression in general.”
Later on, Berset also addressed his meeting with Public Defender, noting that his work is essential for the “transparency of investigations.”
Meeting with Opposition Forces
On December 19, Secretary Berset continued his meetings in Tbilisi. After meeting with Unity-UNM, he stated that they had “an open and constructive exchange.”
Visit of Secretary Berset sparked mixed reactions. Unlike Unity-UNM, another opposition political force, which had cleared the 5% threshold at recent elections, the Coalition for Change announced that they would not meet with Secretary Berset. In the statement, the Coalition said that: “Through propaganda and disinformation purposes, Georgian Dream is using the visit of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Alain Berset, in Tbilisi. The authors of the state capture aim to mislead the Georgian people with this visit, suggesting that someone in Europe recognizes their legitimacy.”
The statement also emphasized that “international visits carried out without clear political messages on the necessity of new elections and without aligning with the serious context in the country only serve to help Ivanishvili’s Russian regime create strategic ambiguity and confusion among Georgian citizens regarding the foreign political aspirations of his criminal team.” They also expressed the confidence that Secretary Berset’s visit will be important “for improving the grave human rights situation in Georgia, particularly in regard to the release of our fellow citizens who have become political prisoners.”
One of the leaders of the party, Elene Khoshtaria also commented on her Facebook explaining why she personally refused to attend the meeting. She stated that the CoE’s main mandate is the protection of human rights. “Not visiting political prisoners, not entering prisons at this moment, I consider to be their second major mistake,” she added.
More to Follow…