MPs’ public movement claims “disrespectful and crass attitude” to Georgian state institutions in US Embassy document on judicial reform
The members of Popular Force also noted the Embassy had requested the Parliament to change five constitutional norms that had “already been assessed as fair and flawless” by the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
Tweet 
Share
Popular Force, a recently launched public movement composed of former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Tuesday released a statement claiming “disrespectful and crass attitude” towards Georgian state institution in a United Sates Embassy document on the country’s judicial reform.
The authors of the statement said the document on the judicial reform, presented by the Embassy to the Georgian Parliament several days ago, “further supports” a viewpoint that efforts of the Embassy are aimed at “weakening” Georgian state institutions and strengthening the “radical opposition”.
The statement came from the movement involving the MPs who left GD following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the faction, and alleged the document delivered by the Embassy to the Parliament contained a number of “problematic and absurd” instructions.
In the mentioned document, the word ‘should’ has been used 60 times, while the Embassy makes ‘recommendations’ to the Parliament on specific issues only nine times. Even this fact alone shows a completely disrespectful and crass attitude towards the Georgian sovereignty and state institutions. Such a document cannot be called ‘recommendations’, but only ‘instructions’, which, unfortunately, reminds us of the Soviet past and evokes corresponding grave associations”, the statement said.
The remarks from the movement also said the Embassy was free to “express its opinion” about Georgian legislation, however, “an embassy operating in a sovereign state and imbued with respect for sovereignty should limit itself to the aspect of justice in making recommendations, and should not interfere with expediency in any case”.
Unfortunately, over the past years, a vicious practice has been established, when the [US] Embassy representatives were in working groups and participated in the lawmaking process. Such a practice is completely unacceptable in a sovereign state, no matter how strategic the partnership between the two states is”, the statement noted.
We will do our best to prevent this kind of practice in the future and the laws, in accordance with the principles of democracy and people's sovereignty, should be written only by the representatives of the state institutions that have been given the appropriate legitimacy based on the Georgian Constitution”, the statement said.
The members of Popular Force also noted the Embassy had requested the Parliament to change five constitutional norms that had “already been assessed as fair and flawless” by the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe.
This is also a manifestation of the disrespectful and crass attitude towards the state. The stability of the constitution is one of the main pillars of the stability of the state. When the Embassy constantly tries to force the Georgian Parliament to make changes to the Constitution, this once again makes us think that weakening the stability of the state is a kind of goal in itself for the Embassy”, the statement concluded.
Gia Volski, a ruling party MP and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said the United States was the “strongest and the most efficient supporter” of Georgia, but added on its part, it also did not have “as loyal a partner and friend as Georgia” in the South Caucasus region.
Popular Force, a newly launched public movement composed of the former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Thursday released a statement saying the actions of Kelly Degnan, the United states Ambassador to Georgia, “reinforce people's belief that the radical agenda of the radical [domestic] opposition is coordinated by the United States Embassy”.
MPs and members of city councils who have left the ruling Georgian Dream party over the past month following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the team on Thursday declared the founding of a public movement.
The 12 conditions outlined by the European Council for granting Georgia the European Union membership candidate status later this year are seen as part of the “revolutionary plan” of the “radical opposition” in the country, three MPs who left the ruling party last week to publicise “behind-the-scenes developments” of the domestic political field said in a statement on Monday.
Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said the ruling Georgian Dream party could not follow the “tone and style” of the statements by the MPs who had left GD following a disagreement over the public relations strategy with the rest of the faction and were criticising actions of the United States Embassy and Ambassador Kelly Degnan.
United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Wednesday said allegations of the Embassy’s interference in Georgia’s domestic institutions by several Georgian MPs were “reckless conspiracy theories” and had no basis.
Dimitri Khundadze, an independent MP and a member of the Popular Force movement, on Wednesday said it was “very sad” that the United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan “uses the talking points” of the opposition United National Movement party in her response to the movement’s criticism of the Embassy’s wording of a document on the country’s judiciary reform.