Congressman Cohen Reviews U.S. Policy Towards Georgia

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN), the Ranking House Member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the Helsinki Commission, today discussed the decline in democratic norms under the Georgian Dream Party.

Congressman Cohen, who serves as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, also expressed concern about the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, serving a six-year term.

In his opening statement, Congressman Cohen asked about Georgia’s ambition to join the European Union (EU) and questioned the rationale for a new Georgian law cracking down on organizations with foreign connections, including news operations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

In his opening statement, he said in part:

“A country that tries to bully its NGOs is a country that is not a democracy.” See his entire opening statement here.

See Congressman Cohen’s questions to the expert witnesses here.

Witnesses at today’s hearing were:

• Ivane Chkhikvadze, EU Integration Program Manager, Civil Society Foundation, and Georgia Country Consultant, European Endowment for Democracy;
• Dr. Natalie Sabanadze, Senior Fellow, Chatham House, and former Georgian Ambassador to the EU; and
• Ambassador (ret.) William Courtney, Adjunct Senior Fellow, RAND Corporation, and former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia

# # #