Shalva Papuashvili refused to attend a meeting of the delegation of chairmen of Foreign Relations Committees of 8 countries of European Union.
Shalva Papuashvili claims that he wrote to the delegation to explain the reason for their refusal. He is now publishing the contents of the letter.
Papuashvili writes in his letter to the delegaiton that “despite the commitment of the Georgian Government to promote dialogue with all relevant and concerned parties of the European Union it cannot respond positively to the intention to hold meetings”.
According to him, he believes that some members of the delegaiton should not have other expectations because of the unfriendly attitude toward Georgia that has been shown so many times.
Papuashvili says that everyone can see that the main motive for the visit was political bias.
“As was announced publicly, today a group of parliamentarians from several countries arrived in Georgia. Zygimantas Pavlinis, a Lithuanian member of the parliament, was also present. This group also requested to meet with me and the Chairman of some committees in the Parliament. I refused the request and explained my reasons for refusing.
We provide a letter of response:
“I was not shocked by the arrival of a delegation consisting of members from parliaments of several EU countries. I was surprised that some of the members of the delegation wanted to meet the political and parliamentary leaders of Georgia despite their unfriendly attitude toward the Georgian government.
I am unable to respond positively to the intention of holding meetings, even though the Georgian Government remains committed to promoting dialogue and communication with all relevant and concerned parties in the European Union.
Some members of the delegaiton should not have other expectations, based on the unfriendly attitudes towards Georgia that have been shown numerous times. Everyone can see that the main purpose of the visit is political bias.
During the pre-election campaigns, some members of delegation and other foreigners deliberately and continuously violated Georgian law by conducting a campaign against the ruling Georgian party and supporting the opposition. This was done to try and illegally influence the citizens’ will.
Georgia’s election legislation and constitution prohibit foreign interference in elections. This was grossly ignored. These politicians, by directly participating in election-related activities, especially anti-government demonstrations, grossly violated international law, a fundamental norm enshrined within the UN Charter. They also questioned the essence and rules-based international system, for which they appear to pay only lip service.
This contributed to the polarization of the radical opposition, which worsened pre-election conditions and created the impression of tension surrounding the elections.
This is not the first instance that members of the Georgian delegation have spread disinformation about the Georgians. As was the case with the campaign about the conditions of Mikheil Sakaashvili’s prison, which was proven to be false by the European Court of Human Rights.
Supporting false narratives and disinformation propagated by radical political groups has tarnished Georgia’s image abroad, and undermined the trust of our population in our Western partners.
These actions and unfriendly language contribute to the attempt to use EU enlargement as a weapon in order to embolden opposition, undermine confidence and legitimacy of elections.
The unfriendly language and actions of certain members of the delegation toward Georgia and its government that we have seen over the last two-and-a-half years also hinders our efforts to maintain the peace and democratic stability of Georgia.
It is impossible to present Europe’s project of peace while at the same time sowing chaos in a country in the name Europe.
Georgian society responded clearly to foreign interference during the October 26th elections when “Georgian Dream”, another convincing victory, won.
The opposition has been rejecting elections and ignoring the strong voices of voters for years, and the Georgian society is used to it. When the Georgian society witnesses the European politicians rejecting democracy, it damages their trust in the European Union.
In light of the above, it is impossible for me to accept the request received.
Papuashvili posted a message on social media expressing respect to the other members of the delega-tion and confirming his willingness to continue the dialogue in accordance with the fundamental principles and standards of parliamentary diplomacy based on equality and sovereignty.
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