New Europe Online: "An open letter on Carl Bildt and Mikhail Saakhasvili"

A handful of Members of Georgia’s Parliament have put pen to paper and addressed a group of United States (US) Senators, challenging them on why they had concerns over the charges against former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

MPs Giorgi Zhvania, Valery Gelashvili and Koba Davitashvili believed they were "victims of Saakashvili’s regime” and in an open letter, explained how they or their families had been kidnapped, assaulted or had the unexplained death of a loved one (former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania) poorly investigated, then challenged the Senators as to why they believed Saakashvili should be excused of his role in these and many more crimes.

The letter, published today, firstly thanked Senator John McCain, Senator Jim Risch, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Jeanne Shaheen for their "continued support of Georgia”. The MPs said they had "never doubted” the Senators acted only with good intentions when making recommendations for Georgia however they strongly disagreed with the Senators’ concern over the charges against Saakashvili.

Your concerns over finding the former president guilty are backed by Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Bildt, whose views are, in our opinion, an unacceptable assessment,” they wrote.

The MPs encouraged the US Senators to learn more about the reality of what happened under Saakashvili’s rule and not solely rely on statements by other international officials, namely the Swedish Foreign Minister, before making a judgement.

Read the open letter here: www.neurope.eu