'What's stopping us from calling it treason?' — opinion on Georgian Dream's response to OSCE criticism
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the Portuguese Declaration, which, among other issues, addresses Syria's recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia – regions that, for the vast majority of UN member states, remain Georgian territories occupied by Russia.
However, the chairman of Georgia's one-party parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that the parliament and the ruling Georgian Dream party did not support the resolution.
This comes as no surprise, considering that in addition to reaffirming support for Georgia's territorial integrity, the declaration also criticizes Georgian Dream for its anti-democratic policies and its departure from the path of European integration.
So far, only five UN member states have recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, including Syria, which did so in 2018 after the then Syrian government made a complete turn toward Russia.
The policy of non-recognition of the independence of these territories has remained one of Georgia's main diplomatic priorities for many years. Some Georgian experts believe that now, with the change of government in Syria, Tbilisi has a unique opportunity to demand the withdrawal of recognition.
But is it ready to seize this opportunity? Lawyer Saba Brachveli reflects on this.
Saba Brachveli:
'Georgia has no diplomatic relations with Syria because Syria recognizes the independence of the occupied territories.
At the moment, after the overthrow of the previous government, Syria is undergoing a global reset of its international relations, which gives us the best chance to secure the withdrawal of recognition.
Opposition parties have jointly appealed to the new Syrian authorities with such a request. What 'Georgian Dream' is doing in this regard (if anything at all) remains unknown.
On July 3, the OSCE adopted a declaration that, on one hand, calls on Syria to recognize Georgia's territorial integrity, and on the other hand, urges 'Georgian Dream' to release political prisoners, hold repeat parliamentary elections, and stop hostile rhetoric toward the European Union.
[Parliament Speaker] Shalva Papuashvili stated that the Georgian delegation, consisting of members of Georgian Dream, does not support this declaration.
In other words, they did not back the most prominent and influential demand for Syria to recognize our territorial integrity.
This raises questions:
What do we call those who put their personal and party interests above the interests of the homeland?
What do we call those for whom the arrest of innocent people is more important than the return of occupied territories?
What prevents us from calling this treason?'
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