Third Sector Mistrusts Tea Tsulukiani

On May 5, around 10 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) released a statement and demanded the resignation of the Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani. Among them are EMC, Young Lawyers Association, Foundation - Open Society Georgia, ISFED.

"We call on the Georgian government to dismiss the Minister of Justice because she has not been able to deal with her important mission for years - reform the justice sector. We think that by considering these conditions, it is not right if we will start consultation with her about choosing a Chief Prosecutor. We think that Tea Tsulukiani will not aim at choosing a truly independent, impartial and dignified chief prosecutor. Therefore, we will not sit with her at negotiations table and we refuse to participate in this process," said the director of Transparency International Georgia, Eka Gigauri.

AT the press-conference, the representatives of NGOs, joining the statement, declared that the crisis in the country is strongly related to the activities of the Ministry of Justice. The statement reads that drug policy reform, the issue of establishing an independent investigative mechanism, reforms in the judiciary system are the cases when Ministry of Justice should share responsibilities, since these issues are the main factors of the majority of the problems.

“When we speak about the responsibilities of the Minister of Justice, we should underscore some important issues. For example, under the leadership of the current Minister of Justice, the state is selecting a Chief Prosecutor for the fifth time and each process of selection cannot endure any criticism. There is no guarantee that the current process will be any better than previous ones.

That is why, in the selection process of the Chief Prosecutor, being involved in consultation with the Minister of Justice is unacceptable for us. When during the last week's events, the PM said that he was ready to provide openness and involvement in the process, I can say that we are ready to take part in the consultations if the process of management is implemented not by the acting justice minister but other person, who will take this position, "- said Sulkhan Saladze.

Representatives of the NGOs believe that the current Minister of Justice is not open and transparent in her actions, and that processes leaded by her will not bring efficient results to the country. The NGOs strongly demand the dismissal of Tea Tsulukiani.