Georgian Parliament Speaker: report on crimes committed by UNM Gov’t gives historic opportunity to Western partners to condemn crimes committed by Saakashvili against Georgia

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday called on foreign partners to use “historic opportunity” and condemn the crimes committed by the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party.

Papuashvili’s remarks came after the Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission examining crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012 officially submitted its report to the legislative body.

“Apologizing for past mistakes and condemning past crimes mean aspiring to higher moral standards in politics. Especially, when an opportunity presents itself, appropriate steps should be taken. Now, there is such an opportune moment. Georgia’s foreign partners should take a necessary moral step and extend long overdue condemnation of the crimes of the regime created by ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement party”, the Speaker said.

“The Interim Parliamentary Investigative Commission into the activities of the 2003-2012 Regime, Its Political Officeholders, and Current and Former Officials Affiliated with Political Parties of this Regime from 2003 to the Present formally submitted its Report to the Parliament today, revealing formally the staggering breadth and scale of the crimes committed by the Saakashvili regime since 2003, which has already been well known to the Georgian public. Our people have long delivered the political verdict to the Regime, as never since 2012, when Georgian Dream became the incumbent party, have Saakashvili’s United National Movement and its multiple affiliates ever won any election in Georgia”, he continued.

He criticised Western Partners for being well aware of Saakashvili’s crimes even between 2003 and 2012, when the regime was in power.

He further added that instead, Saakashvili was praised as a reformer, and Western partners, especially some circles in the United States, and, especially, governments of Poland and the Baltic countries fully supported the regime, at the detriment of human rights and political freedoms in Georgia.

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“This cognitive dissonance between the obvious facts on the ground and the West’s myopic reaction has long caused consternation in Georgian society. How come the West, which presents itself as a paragon of human rights and political freedoms, not only turned a blind eye on such heavy crimes but also encouraged its major perpetrator, Saakashvili and his sprawling political clan in Georgia, which still tries to mess up the country and disrupt its peaceful development? Among others, this powerful cognitive dissonance is what causes the gradual decline in the authority of some of our foreign partners among Georgian society”, Papuashvili said.

“However, today’s landmark investigative report is important inasmuch as it documents, summarizes and presents legally, through the nation’s highest legislature, the very essence of the Regime’s crimes against the nation and against every individual affected by the Regime’s rule. The findings are buttressed with solid evidence, including from the European Court of Human Rights”, he continued.

The Speaker emphasised the main findings as per the Commission’s Report pertaining to the crimes committed under the Saakashvili regime and after 2012, when United National Movement party was ousted from power, that was:

Torture and inhumane treatment in prisons, as a result of the ‘zero tolerance’ policy of the UNM regime;

• Murders and violence perpetrated by the members of UNM;
• Violation of the right to private life;
• Corruption, racketeering of private business, and blatant violation of property rights;
• Actions against the freedom of the media;
• Actions against Georgia’s territorial integrity and the peace process.

“A 461-page Report will soon be available in English. The Report gives an historic opportunity to our Western partners to seize the moment and condemn the crimes committed by Saakashvili and his circle since 2003 against Georgia and humanity. By doing so, we can give the dialogue a chance”, he concluded.