NGOs publish statement condemning criticism towards Ombudsman
By Khatia Bzhalava
Tuesday, September 29
14 Non-governmental organizations publish a joint statement, calling on the government representatives to refrain from making offensive statements towards the Public Defender (ombudsman) of Georgia, Nino Lomjaria. The statement of the NGOs primarily refers to the Executive Secretary of Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, who recently ‘attacked’ Lomjaria and called her ‘irresponsible, shameful and subjective in favor of the opposition.’
Lomjaria received criticism from Kobakhidze in response to her statement, according to which, opposition members are being threatened during the pre-election period. Kobakhidze noted that Lomjaria has been making such statements for several years already, however, she has never been able to name who she is referring to, which, according to the Executive Secretary of Georgian Dream, ‘is irresponsible and raises doubts.’
NGOs express extreme concern over the criticism of Public Defender and note that making ‘unfounded’ and ‘insulting’ statements towards the Ombudsman has become a habit of the government representatives. In their joint statement, organizations remark that the only purpose of such criticism is to discredit constitutional institutions and divert attention from the actual challenges and problems.
The NGOs emphasize that the Public Defender of Georgia is a constitutional body, which is entitled by the law to monitor and oversee the protection of human rights in the country. As the statement reads, monitoring of the pre-election environment, as well as informing the society and international community about the detected violation is the direct and most important responsibility of the Public Defender.
According to the organizations, as in the previous years, within the framework of her mandate, the Public Defender of Georgia is observing the 2020 Parliamentary elections. The statement reads that the severe violations such as intimidation, threatening to disseminate materials of private life, and retaliation against political opponents by forceful methods are issues that have never been adequately dealt with by the state. The statement also notes that investigation on many violent acts that took place during the pre-election period in recent years has not been completed to date or has not been commenced at all.
“It is noteworthy that the unhealthy and violent pre-election environment in Georgia has been repeatedly pointed out by international missions, as well as NGOs operating in the country. Thus, obvious and direct attacks of the representatives of the ruling party on the Public Defender of Georgia is unsupported and is aiming to discredit the major institute of the country,” the statement reads.
The signatory organizations call on the political group of Georgian Dream to abstain from making offensive statements to the Public Defender explicitly or implicitly and to stop attempts of obstructing the activities of the institute.
The statement is signed by the following organizations: Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF); Transparency International (TI); Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA); International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED); Rights Georgia; Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI); Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI); Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center – EMC; Partnership for Human Rights (PHR); The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC); Georgian Media Club for Freedom; Democracy Research Institute (DRI); Green Alternative; Sapari.
