POLITICO reports that today, May 20th, a bill will be introduced in the US Congress, proposing asset freezes and visa bans for Georgian government representatives who supported the “foreign agents” bill (Transparency of Foreign Influence Law).
According to the draft bill reviewed by POLITICO, the ruling party “Georgian Dream” is increasingly aligning itself with the Russian Federation within a “growingly illiberal turn.”
The bill also emphasizes that Tbilisi openly attacks American and other Western democracy-promoting organizations, as well as local and international civil society, while simultaneously fostering growing ties with Russia and China.
As part of efforts to “defend and ensure democracy,” the bill proposes sanctions against government officials and other individuals who “undermine or damage democracy, human rights, or security in Georgia.” Sanctions include visa bans for politicians and their families responsible for adopting the “Russian-style foreign agents law.”
“The sanctions will also target Georgian law enforcement agencies and security services that suppressed protests against the law. In response to tens of thousands taking to the streets, authorities used tear gas and water cannons, beat and detained activists and opposition politicians,” the article states.
POLITICO writes that Joe Wilson, a member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Helsinki Commission, will present the bill to Congress today. Its provisions will require top US officials to inform Congress about “nodes of illegitimate political influence, kleptocracy, and elite corruption in Georgia,” as well as alleged Russian and Chinese intelligence assets operating in the country.
On May 18, the Helsinki Commission announced that on June 4, 2024, hearings will be held on “Supporting Georgia’s Sovereignty and Democracy.”
The hearings will involve former US Ambassador to Georgia William Courtney, former Georgian Ambassador to the European Union Natalia Sabanadze, and Euro-Integration program manager at the Open Society Foundation – Georgia, Vano Chkhikvadze.
“Officials from the European Union have already made it abundantly clear that the full enactment of such legislation will torpedo the country’s EU membership aspirations. And the European Parliament has signaled that certain privileges that Georgia enjoys with the EU, including visa liberalization, could be put at risk as a result.
In the United States, Congress and the State Department have vowed to protect and support the Georgian people’s overwhelming and long-standing democratic and Euro-Atlantic choice, including potentially through targeted individual visa bans, financial sanctions, reconsidering aid packages, and other measures. By all accounts, the Georgian Dream government is dragging a pro-democracy and pro-west population towards Moscow against their will, and is willing to accrue great harm to the country in that quest,” the Helsinki Commission reminds.
