Web Portal on Human Rights in Georgia

The parliamentary majority of Georgia cannot see anything new and special in the annual report of the US Department.

Lasha Tordia, the Chairman of the Parliament’s Committee for Human Rights, told journalists that the US Department of State’s annual human rights report does not reveal anything new.

He said there are issues mentioned in the Report concerning of what some conclusions were already made and there are issues on which we still continue working.

"There is nothing new in it", said Tordia, adding the US Department of State’s report is very important and it should be taken into account.

As for the US ambassador’s concern about harassment of opposition figures, Lasha Tordia explained that they cannot agree with the Department of State on every issue, because sometimes they are provided with inexact information.

He said the State Department receives information from the non-governmental sector, the parliament, the Public Defender and all those who are working in the human rights area, therefore the government may not agree with some information.

Tordia named harassment of opposition and existence of political prisoners in Georgia as ‘such inexact information’.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration Davit Darchiashvili said problems revealed in the US State Department’s Report about human rights situation in Georgia cannot hinder Georgia’s integration into the NATO. He said those problems are common for other countries too.

He said, as a rule, the Report lists those violations were provided by the Public Defender of Georgia and local nongovernmental organizations and the US State Department made legal evaluation of those facts.

According to Darchiashvili, police uses excessive force in every country; but those facts are responded and afterwards somebody likes and somebody does not like it. The Government of Georgia shares all negative evaluations of certain problems reflected in the Report. For example, it is necessary to improve professionalism of police officers and judges. “But those problems cannot hinder Georgia’s integration into the NATO. It is natural that reinforcing of democratic institutions is urgently important on our way towards NATO integration,” Darchiashvili said.

Interpresnews