Prime Minister Bidizina Ivanishvili (Press Office Photo)
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s prime minister has sent an open letter in response to a letter signed by 23 members of the European parliament for the European People’s Party (EPP).
The center-right EPP criticizes Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili for conducting a policy which may ‘result in deepening of the apparent democratic backsliding’ and that Georgia might be ‘seized from its European perspective.’
In his response, the prime minister describes the current situation in the country in six areas: judiciary, media, corruption, violence, elections and human rights.
“Today I fulfill the duties of prime minister as a French citizen. Should I be granted Georgian citizenship, however, I will no longer be authorized to serve as Prime Minister,” the PM starts his letter.
He then goes on outlining the errors of the Saakashvili government, including that in the eight years since the Rose Revolution, the constitution has been amended twenty-five times.
Already on Sunday, an ally of Ivanishvili, Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili, wrote that Georgia is not familiar with the type of Europe implied in the EPP politicians’ March 6 open letter.
“I urge you also to delegate long-term observers to Georgia and see for yourselves that the will of the Georgian government to ensure democratic governance is unwavering and that our mission implies unequivocal commitment to democratic values, the rule of law, and human rights, while the demand and desire of the Georgian people is to live by true Western values,” Ivanishvili’s letter reads. It ends: “Doomed is any government that decides to stray from this path.”
Read the full text of Ivanishvili’s open letter here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/130316869/Open-Letter-to-European-People%E2%80%99s-Party
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