Sir, – Georgia is in a state of crisis with large-scale demonstrations ongoing in the capital Tbilisi now for months. Once awarded coveted EU candidate status, the process now stands suspended with the EU accusing the government of persistent democratic backsliding referencing the recent laws on “transparency and foreign influence” and “family values and protection of minors”, both designed to reduce democratic freedoms in civil society, and further stigmatise and discriminate against minority groups such as LGBTQ+ rights.
The EU parliament in November called the October elections in Georgia neither free nor fair, and passed a resolution calling for a re-run within a year including sanctions and limited contacts with government officials.
The US, for its part, in November suspended its Georgia Strategic Partnership mechanism and this week the UK government suspended all programme support including defence co-operation with the Georgian government following what they described as shocking scenes of violence towards protesters and journalists by Georgian authorities.
Under the International Protection Act 2015 Georgia is deemed a safe country of origin. Is it now time this was looked at again? – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL CALLAN,
Former acting head of security, European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia.