PACE monitors, European Parliament members call on Georgian parties to de-escalate political tension
Unrest in Georgia was sparked after the recent Tbilisi court ruling which said that opposition United National Movement chair Melia be remanded into custody for failure to post bail for his release in a case that dates back to the June 2019 protests. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge archive
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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.
While no-one should be above the law, the police raid on the UNM Headquarters and the arrest of opposition leader Nika Melia have unnecessarily escalated tensions between the opposition and the ruling majority and deepened the political crisis in the country,” they said.
The two co-rapporteurs also said that ‘Georgia’s democratic development needs restraint, dialogue and compromise, not escalation and confrontation’.
They further call on all political forces ‘to refrain from any actions that could further escalate tension, and to return to the negotiating table in order to find a political and mutually acceptable solution to resolve the ongoing crisis’.
PACE Georgia monitors react to #Tbilisi raid and arrest of opposition leader Nika Melia https://t.co/vG8z7E0IhR pic.twitter.com/AtGWzcdD1L
— PACE (@PACE_News) February 24, 2021
PACE President Rik Daems has also joined the co-rapporteurs in Twitter:
I fully support the statement made by the @PACE_news co-rapporteurs on the current situation in #Georgia. I join the rapporteurs’ call for dialogue & compromise to overcome the crisis: https://t.co/SJeQUmHP18 #PACEVoices
— Rik Daems (@PACE_President) February 24, 2021
Meanwhile, 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'.
We call on the ruling party, the government of #Georgia & all opposition groups, to immediately take necessary steps to de-escalate political tensions in order to resolve the political crisis which has further deteriorated following the detention of the leader of the UNM party ???????? pic.twitter.com/ePu7p3jbMs
— Marina Kaljurand MEP (@MarinaKaljurand) February 24, 2021
Unrest in Georgia was sparked after the recent Tbilisi City Court ruling which said that Melia be remanded into custody for failure to post bail for his release in a case that dates back to the June 2019 protests.
A number of foreign dignitaries have expressed their concern over Melia's detention at the UNM headquarter shortly after the confirmation of Georgia's new cabinet of ministers.
Irakli Garibashvili who was confirmed prime minister the evening before Melia's detention stated later yesterday that ‘against the backdrop of the challenges facing the country, it is time for dialogue, not confrontation’.
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.’
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.’
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.
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.
The Georgian opposition parties which took to the street following the recent arrest of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia are now holding a protest in downtown Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue. They say that protests will continue at parliament, the administrative building of the government of Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and at Tbilisi City Court until Melia and the co-founder of the opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV channel Giorgi Rurua are released, and repeat parliamentary elections scheduled.