War of letters reveals Georgia’s political tensions

The chairman of the Georgian Parliament responded strongly in March 2013 to criticism from the European Parliament’s centre-right European People’s Party that Georgia's Prime Minister could 'close European doors' by backsliding on democratic reform.

Twenty-three MEPs published an open letter to Georgia's Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on the 6 March 2013, accusing him of backsliding on democracy.

The 23 MEPs listed a litany of grievances, including public pressure on legislators; pressure on the judiciary and the public broadcaster; inflammatory rhetoric and use of mobs to silence political opponents; and the frequent use of hate speech.

Georgia's 'European perspective' could be compromised under such circumstances, the MEPs warned.

Since elections on the 1 October 2012 the political situation in Georgia had been marked by a standoff between Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Subsequently, in May 2013 a former Georgian prime minister, Vano Merabishvili, was arrested on corruption charges in a move that might rekindle international concerns over alleged selective prosecutions under billionaire premier Bidzina Ivanishvili.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background Information: Tbilisi clashes delay president’s speech http://www.europeansources.info/record/tbilisi-clashes-delay-presidents-speech/

BBC News, 21.05.13: Saakashvili ally charged with corruption in Georgia http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22614940

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/13/452: Statement by the Spokespersons of High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Füle on the arrests of former Prime Minister of Georgia http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-452_en.pdf

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