The US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [Helsinki Commission] held a congressional hearing on supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and democracy. Chaired by US Representatives Joe Wilson, the hearing featured testimonies from Ivane Chkhikvadze, EU Integration Program Manager at the Civil Society Foundation and Georgia Country Consultant at the European Endowment for Democracy, and Natalie Sabanadze, Senior Fellow at Chatham House and former Georgian Ambassador to the EU.

The hearing came amid the recent adoption of the Law on Transparency and the US announcement of sanctions “against those undermining democracy in Georgia and a comprehensive review of all U.S.-Georgian cooperation”, as well as the introduction of the MEGOBARI Act in the US House of Representatives.

“In today’s Georgia, democracy is being destroyed by the hands of the parliamentary supermajority. The one unaccountable man is reversing Georgia’s long-standing foreign policy priorities. Georgia’s rulers maintain that the law that contradicts the principles of democracy and human rights is good for us.

The Georgian Dream is trying to convince Georgians that the law will not derail the country from the Euro-Atlantic path. This law is not the only problem, but rather a symptom of the current political crisis.

Georgia is part of the trend, not an exception. Similar to the Georgian legislation has been adopted by numerous autocratic regimes from Russia to Venezuela to equip themselves with the legal instruments of repressions…

They are working to steal elections, not on the day of the vote… but weeks and months in advance with elaborate systems of incentives and pressures. Noting that the methods set by autocracies are becoming more sophisticated, more veiled in vocabularies of sovereignty and traditional values. Civic protest movements are described as color revolutions, the work of outsiders and of local traitors manipulated by foreign governments.

These tactics are aimed at persuading citizens to stay out of politics, and to trade their freedom for order, their rights for a chance of prosperity and to accept the abuse of power for the sake of preserving the peace.

Georgia as a country deserves your continued support, but the individuals who decided to turn Georgia into a Russian gray area for their dubious business dealings must be punished. This is part of the global struggle.

There are measures, for example sanctions, which I think should be targeted, individuals should take responsibility, this includes visa bans, financial sanctions. They should not be able to send their children to expensive universities. In this country, it affects life and they are individually responsible”, - said Sabanadze.

“The law will fully erase the critical voices and destroy the vibrant civil society that has been built in the country with the generous support of our friends and partners over the years, including the USAID. There is a serious threat that these elections will take place without critical media, independent civil society and independent observers. The ruling party is severely undermining Georgia’s future through increasing hostility towards western democratic values and capturing the state institutions…

The stakes are very high for Georgia, for the Georgian people, and for our friends. It would be a real missed opportunity if Western friends of Georgia do not act now”, - added Chkhikvadze.