The ruling Georgian Dream has taken a number of “very unwise steps” in the year of parliamentary elections, ranging from adopting a law on foreign agents to promising to ban opposition parties. David Kramer, Director of Global Policy at the George W. Bush Center, said at the Tbilisi International Conference.
“Georgia was granted EU candidate status last year, and since then we have seen several changes, including Bidzina Ivanishvili's announcement of a return to politics. This was followed by the change of prime minister and the adoption of the NGO law, despite strong opposition from within Georgia, as well as from Georgia's allies, but with strong support from Russia.
The NGO legislation, in my view, is a big mistake and a step backwards for this country. We see what NGOs are doing in this country. It is a pity that this is happening right before the elections, but I also believe that this is a conscious step and not a coincidence,” Kramer said.
Also, the former US assistant secretary of state is convinced that a party “claiming to be democratic should not make statements about eliminating all opposition parties and expelling parliamentarians.”
“I realize that in the pre-election period the rhetoric can be tense, but I don't think such talk is well received in Georgia or Georgia-friendly countries,” he pointed out.
The American political scientist also called absurd the Georgian authorities' statements about a certain “global war party” and US participation in it, adding that for him personally they were offensive.
“The global war party sits in Moscow, and it is Russia that is occupying Georgia's territories, not the US. I would like everyone in Georgia to understand this well. We are not interested in expanding the war, and talk that the U.S. is trying to drag Georgia into the war is utter nonsense,” Kramer said.
The McCain Institute for International Leadership, the George W. Bush Institute and the Center for Economic Policy Research are holding the international conference in Tbilisi for the eighth time. This year the main theme of the forum is the upcoming elections in Georgia and the United States, and the slogan is “The Year of Breakthrough.” On September 2 and 3, with the participation of American and European politicians and experts, the conference will discuss issues of global security, foreign policy and the future of democracy in the light of current political changes and events.
The ruling Georgian Dream party is not sending representatives to the conference for the third year.
Reprinted from https://www.newsgeorgia.ge/
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