The European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) held a session on June 3 to debrief MEPs following their May 26-28 working trip to Georgia. The meeting featured statements from MEPs as well as accounts by representatives of Georgian civil society and media.
During their 3-day visit to Georgia, the DROI delegation, consisting of five MEPs -Nacho Sanchez Amor, Rasa Jukneviciene, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Matthieu VALET, and Catarina Vieira – held meetings with various groups, including representatives of media and civil society organisations, families of political prisoners, as well as President Salome Zurabishvili and members of the pro-Western opposition.
The visit’s purpose was “to show support for pro-EU civil society organisations, and to assess the human rights and fundamental freedoms situation in the country, not least in the light of its EU membership candidate status.”
During the June 3 extraordinary meeting, Spanish MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D), who chaired the mission, criticized the recent legislation passed by the GD parliament, calling it “completely contrary” to what is happening in the EU. He said that the Georgian authorities are trying to manipulate public opinion and spread disinformation about the European bloc. He also highlighted that civil society faces “repressive actions” and that, without foreign support, some human rights NGOs in Georgia risk closure.
Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė (EPP), who also took part in the trip and addressed the Independence Day rally on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue on May 26, praised the Georgian people, calling them “heroes to very many Europeans.”
“During the cold winter, they were in the streets fighting for the European future of Georgia, waving European flags,” the MEP said, adding that “sometimes, I feel that those people are more pro-European than many Europeans.” She noted that the situation in Georgia is getting worse every day, and that it is “more and more close to what finally [happened] in Belarus.” Juknevičienė also urged the EU member states to impose sanctions, “especially on those who are responsible for oppression and everything we see in the country.”
“The only way out of the crisis is a new, fair, and free election,” she concluded.
Spanish MEP Adrián Vázquez Lázara (EPP) briefly recounted the mission’s work. He said that the country is not heading in the right direction and that Georgia’s civil society must receive as much help as possible from Europe.
Following their speeches, the floor was given to three Georgian representatives. First came writer Lasha Bugadze, who said that Putin must be defeated and “all his satellites in my country must be punished.”
Next spoke journalist Beka Korshia, who dedicated part of his address to jailed journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, whom he called a “political prisoner” facing “absurd charges.”
“I’m a journalist from Georgia. I say journalist, but lately, they just mean someone who has not been arrested yet,” Korshia said, introducing himself. “Right now, my country has 65 political prisoners,” the journalist said, noting that “this number has changed three times while I was writing this text.”
The third Georgian speaker was Keti Kerashvili, the sister of the detained protester Irakli Kerashvili. Kerashvili referred to the arrested demonstrators as “the conscience of our country,” and said that the people will not surrender and will fight against authoritarianism “until the last drop of strength.”
“We will speak, sing, protest, vote, and stand up until the struggle is won,” Kerashvili noted.
MEP Sanchez asserted that the European Union’s “only leverage” in such a deteriorating situation in Georgia is to impose personal sanctions on the authorities because “the only thing they care about is their own businesses and enjoying democratic life in our countries.”
At the end of the session, it was noted that the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee will adopt a document on June 4 concerning political developments in Georgia. The document has been tabled by MEP Rasa Juknevičienė.
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