US president’s national security advisor calls on political parties in Georgia to negotiate
US President Joe Baiden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has responded to the arrest of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia. Photo: AP.
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US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has responded to the recent arrest of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party in Georgia Nika Melia and called on political parties in the country ‘to return to negotiations in support of Georgian democracy.’
As @StateDeptSpox says, we are concerned by Nika Melia’s arrest in Georgia and call on all sides to avoid escalation and return to negotiations in support of Georgian democracy. https://t.co/dOaIldCQ50
— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) February 23, 2021
US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen and Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Gerry Connolly also called on ‘all political parties’ in Georgia to ‘cease provocations’ and negotiate ‘for a peaceful resolution of this crisis.’
The corrupt use of Georgia’s law enforcement and judiciary to execute politically-motivated actions jeopardizes what remains of Georgia’s democracy and its Euro-Atlantic path,” they said in a joint statement released yesteday.
In his address later yesterday the new Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili said that ‘today is not the time for division – it is the time for unification.’
We must all unite regardless of our political beliefs and views,” Garibashvili said.
In his previous statements he said ‘Melia is a criminal and that everyone is equal before the law.’
Facing unprecedented geopolitical challenges,Georgians must unite to overcome radical politics & restore the political dialogue in the name of our independence & European/Euro-Atlantic integration. All reasonable political parties should enter Parliament, ????????'s democratic platform
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) February 23, 2021
Melia is charged with incitement to violence during the June 2019 protests and was released on 70,000 GEL bail (40,000 GEL was added to his bail in November 2019 for violation of bail conditions).
He refused to pay the additional 40,000 GEL and the country’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office demanded his arrest which was allowed by the court last week.
Melia was arrested yesterday in the headquarters of the UNM party in Tbilisi.
Opposition took to the street the same day.
Georgian opposition politicians gathered at the residence of European Union Ambassador Carl Hartzel to discuss the recent developments in the country following the detention of United National Movement chair Nika Melia. United States Ambassador Kelly Degnan also joined the meeting.
New Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has addressed the nation saying that Georgia’ has no time to lose’. ‘Today is not the time for division – it is the time for unification’, he stated. Garibashvili who was confirmed prime minister yesterday said in his recent video address that amid the important challenges Georgia is facing nowadays, including the pandemic, ‘we must all unite’ regardless the political beliefs and views.
Opposition politicians and civis activists who gathered in front of the parliament building in downtown Tbilisi following the detention of opposition United National Movement (UNM) chair Nika Melia plan to camp out in protest tonight.
Opposition parties and their supporters have blocked off central Rustaveli Avenue earlier today, following the recent arrest of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia.Melia, who is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019, has been arrested for refusal to post bail.
Georgian opposition parties have demanded the imposition of sanctions against politicians, judges and the law enforcers who participated in the recent arrest of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia and who ‘act against the rule of law.’
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitoring co-rapporteurs for Georgia Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern have expressed their concern over the recent developments in Tbilisi. European Parliament members Marina Kaljurand and Sven Mikser have also called on the ruling party and opposition 'to immediately take necessary steps to de-escalate political tensions'.
The spokesperson of the EU External Action Service has released a statement on the arrest of the United National Movement chair Nika Melia which reads that political polarisation in Georgia 'has regrettably further deepened' since then and damages Georgia's democracy.