A group of deputies from eight European countries (France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden and Finland) visited Georgia on Monday, November 11, at the invitation of the president, Salomé Zourabichvili, in order to assert their “support for Georgia’s path to Europe” and their “attachment to the rule of law, democracy and freedom”. This visit took place as the opposition and the president denounce a rigged vote and electoral interference by Russia after the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the legislative elections on October 26.
Read also | In Georgia, the president calls for new legislative elections, after accusations of fraud
Read later
In an interview with MondeFrench MP Frédéric Petit (Democratic Movement, MoDem), member of the delegation, takes stock of this visit and calls for “support civil society” Georgian facing the “hybrid war that Russia is waging”.
What is the state of mind of Georgians, almost three weeks after the controversial elections?
I saw more hope than despair. We must continue to support civil society, it is our only real response to the hybrid war that Russia is waging in the country. It’s a fight, and we are trailing at half-time. It is difficult to understand it in France, but hybrid warfare is theorized and methodically organized. We must help Georgia make its way to the European Union [UE]. Otherwise it will be crushed politically and culturally by the “Russian world”, and will one day have a governor appointed in Moscow instead of a Parliament.
You have been accused of interference with this visit, including in France. What do you answer?
I am very embarrassed by these accusations which have been circulating on social networks, and not only from trolls, but also from colleagues from extreme parties, on one side or the other. This is a fundamental error about what a parliamentarian is. It is our role to discuss with foreign colleagues, and we did not put pressure! I was accused of going to Georgia because I didn’t like the result. This is false! There was fraud.
The Georgian Dream MPs refused to meet with you. How do you react?
I regret it. They refused to see us in a not very elegant way, launching almost ad hominem attacks. I don’t see how we can both say “we will continue the journey towards Europe” and refusing to discuss with other countries. Georgian Dream won the elections by playing on fear, by accusing Europe of going to war, which is a lie, and by committing fraud. Even less severe observers, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE]declared that this election was not up to standard.
You have 48.16% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
