Georgian Dream’s aggressive campaign against local non-governmental organizations has reached an alarming level, 20 non-governmental organizations say in a statement.
They claim that “the attack on civil organizations by Georgian Dream has the goal of neutralizing public control over the activities of the government, which is another clear manifestation of authoritarianism and indicates the irreversible trend of its formation.”
“After Georgian Dream blocked the participation of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) in the working group created by it to fulfill the 12 points defined for Georgia to obtain the status of a candidate for EU membership, which was followed by the suspension of work in the groups by other non-governmental organizations, the ruling party attacked the civil sector. Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of Georgian Dream, attacking the competence and integrity of non-governmental organizations, classifying them and creating a black list of non-governmental organizations unacceptable to the government due to their position on European integration, which is the most important issue in the country’s national interests, is nothing more than an attempt by Georgian Dream to neutralize public control over the activities of the government, and in this way, to facilitate the implementation of its own agenda.
“The ruling party attacks those individuals and organizations that actively monitor the activities of the government, criticize the current dangerous policies, call on the government to review its agenda and start taking real steps towards the development of the country in the direction of European integration.
“We believe that Georgian Dream is aware of the outcome, however, with such rhetoric and steps, it is purposefully trying to break all the levers that Georgia needs for its democratic development. It is such decisions and statements that make the future of democratic development of Georgia unclear, both in the eyes of the national and international community, which is fully the responsibility of Georgian Dream,” reads the statement.
The statement is signed by: “Georgian Democratic Initiative” (GDI); “Georgia Court Watch”; “Transparency International Georgia” (TI); “Georgian Open Society Foundation” (OSGF); “Guardians of Democracy”; “Media Development Fund”; “Economic Policy Research Center” (EPRC); “European-Georgian Institute”; “Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies” (Rondeli Foundation); “Georgian Institute of Politics” (GIP); “Atlantic Council of Georgia”; “Georgian Reforms Association” (GRASS); “Tolerance and Diversity Institute” (TDI); “Rights Georgia”; “Women for a Common Future (WECF) – Georgia”; “Safari”; “Regional Network of Civil Activists”; “Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development” (CIPDD); “Human Rights Center”; “Group of independent lawyers”.
Image source: Netgazeti.ge
