“This events will be written in the history of world politics in gray letters,” reacted the political council of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” to the U.S. statement about possible sanctions against the Georgian government and their families.
According to “Georgian Dream,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement is nothing more than a crude attempt to limit Georgia’s independence and sovereignty, which is “especially cynical” ahead of the upcoming Independence Day on May 26th.
On May 24th, Antony Blinken announced new visa restrictions for Georgian politicians responsible for passing the “foreign agents” law. The list of individuals to be sanctioned has not yet been published.
“Georgian Dream” claims that this U.S. action is part of an anti-Georgian rhetoric that has been ongoing since 2012, when “Georgian Dream” came to power.
“The policy of blackmail and intimidation against Georgia contradicts our strategic partnership, not to mention the spirit of partnership in general that, ideally, was supposed to develop between the two sovereign nations,” the party’s statement reads.
The ruling party insists that opponents of the “foreign agents” law (“On Transparency of Foreign Influence”) do not present any arguments and that similar laws, in much stricter forms, exist in the U.S., France, and several other countries.
The US has announced visa restrictions for those in Georgia linked to the “foreign agents” law
“Georgian Dream” was particularly outraged by the fact that the sanctions extend not only to politicians but also to their family members:
“Equally notably, the application of sanctions to family members, including underage children, is a form of sanctions not only decisively rejected by Europe since the 1940s, but also out of use even in the Soviet Union since the 1960s.
For decades, the civilized world denounces the principle of so-called subjective liability—applying sanctions to include family members—as a Fascist-Bolshevik phenomenon. And now this form of sanctions is proposed by a US official, which is beyond comprehension.
However, after the relevant forces, through one of the European Commissioners, has cited the example of the President of Slovakia in a conversation with the Prime Minister of Georgia—in this way blackmailing and threatening Georgia’s senior officials with physical elimination—talks of visa restrictions are no longer unexpected or surprising.”
“Also, allow us to remind you that, a few months ago, similar visa restrictions—without any substantiation or facts—were imposed on behalf of Blinken on Georgian judges.
Later, however, a cynical statement followed claiming that no facts were intended to be provided, and that we had to investigate the subject matter on our own.
Despite visa restrictions, the judiciary system continues its streamlined operation, and this decision has had no impact whatsoever on the independence on Georgia’s judiciary.
Better still, the Strasbourg Court has repeatedly confirmed thereafter that the Georgian judiciary is making fair decisions in serving justice,” the statement from “Georgian Dream” reads.
The party also reminds that, currently, U.S. sanctions are in place against the top officials of two EU candidate countries, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Nevertheless, both countries continue their EU accession process.
“In conclusion, we would like to reiterate clearly that we do not intend to trade on our country’s sovereignty and security. No blackmail whatsoever can force us to go against our country. Under these circumstances, sanctions are only counterproductive and harm only the sanctioning party.
Consequently, we urge everyone to exercise pragmatism and take effective steps toward upgrading our relations, something that serves the interests of both the Georgian and the American people.”