Georgian PM slams US Senators, questions “civility” in American Congress

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday criticised the United States Senator James Risch for his latest remarks against the Georgian Dream authorities, describing the tone of American congressional discourse on Georgian issues the previous day as “disturbing” and “disappointing”. 

In his press briefing at the Government office, the PM reacted to the session at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday following the Georgian Government’s adoption of the law on transparency of foreign influence earlier this year, where the Senator “hoped” Georgian voters would “get an opportunity in October [elections] to throw the rascals out and take a hold of their own future”. 

Today, we see a decrease in the quality of culture in this most important and still very valuable [US] institution, which is very disturbing and personally heartbreaking for me”, Kobakhidze said, adding “such a level of incivility should not be demonstrated by people in the American Congress”

Addressing Senator Risch, the PM claimed the American lawmaker had “always supported” the United National Movement, the previous ruling force defeated by GD in the 2012 Parliamentary elections.

Risch came to support UNM in 2012 and has been an ardent supporter since. However, Bidzina Ivanishvili [the GD Honorary Chair and its founder] did not give him or his allies a chance. They had to accept the results of the elections like their friend Mikheil Saakashvili [the former President]”, the official claimed.

The Government head also called on critics to “find any evidence” of Risch and his colleague Jeanne Shaheen “criticising UNM before or after” the 2012 vote, claiming they had “consistently backed” the party, which is labelled as a “radical opposition” by the current authorities. 

The PM also noted Risch had presented himself as an “impartial election observer” from the US Senate for Georgia’s October 26 elections while referring to the country’s ruling power as “rascals”. 

If you claim to be an impartial observer, you should not show bias at all. When the Senator calls the ruling power ‘rascals’, what value do any of his statements have after that? None. When criticism is completely unfair and unjust, it loses all meaning”, the PM stressed. 

The official further pledged the “[actual] rascals” would “definitely leave the Georgian political scene” following the forthcoming vote, in reference to GD’s plans to declare UNM unconstitutional for its alleged crimes in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war if the ruling party secures at least 113 seats in the 150-member legislative body. 

In his comments the PM also accused Senator Shaheen of “lying”, in reference to her earlier claims that the GD authorities had demanded the US suspend its funding of critical non-governmental organisations in Georgia. 

Shaheen made false claims, suggesting that we had called for an end to funding for NGOs critical of the Government, which is a complete fabrication. The only point discussed was that if the Government was asked to reduce polarisation, it was unacceptable for American funds to support radicalism and polarisation in Georgia”, Kobakhidze said. 

Commenting on the speech of Eka Gigauri, the Head of Transparency International Georgia, in the Senate session, the PM compared it to “those by Sergo Orjonikidze”, a Bolshevik Georgian politician whose name has been synonymous with traitors. 

He claimed “Gigauri's speech was nothing new, just another instance of lustration. The only new thing we learned from this speech is that she does not even have a good command of English”.