We’re Failing to See Objective Reasons for Dismantlement of State Inspector service, EU Ambassador Says
By Khatia Bzhalava
Friday, February 18, 2022
EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell has commented in response to media requests on 15 February decisions in Parliament regarding the appointments to the bodies to replace the State Inspector’s Service and the termination of parliamentary mandates.
Regarding the ruling party's replacement of the State Inspector Service with two new services, the Ambassador stated that he had failed to see objective reasons for the unexpected dismantlement of the original body last December or the early termination of the mandate of the State Inspector. It is noteworthy that foreign diplomats in Georgia, as well as NGOs and the opposition had called on the ruling party to pause the process of replacing the outgoing service, and called for consultations over the initiative.
“Effective democratic oversight of the security sector and proper safeguarding of data protection remain Georgian commitments for which it will be held accountable,” Ambassador Hartzell noted.
The Parliament of Georgia appointed Karlo Katsitadze and Lela Janashvili to lead the Special Investigation Service and Personal Data Protection Services on Tuesday, the two newly created agencies replacing the State Inspector Service. Ambassador Hartzell noted that while taking note of these recent appointments, the EU would await the outcome of the appeal process currently in the Constitutional Court.
As for the parliament’s decision to terminate some opposition mandates, Hartzell commented that the decision would ‘arguably’ reduce political inclusiveness and democratic pluralism in the legislative body.
“When it comes to the decision to terminate some opposition mandates, a political choice was made yesterday on the basis of principles that I will not debate, but which arguably came at the expense of political inclusiveness and democratic pluralism in Parliament,” the statement reads.
According to Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the Georgian Dream, the recent statements of the EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell are not fair and objective. Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of the leaders of the Georgian Dream also stated that he disagreed with Ambassador Hartzell’s opinion. According to him, the Ambassador stands by Georgia and helps the government in a lot of good deeds, however, Mdinaradze noted that Hartzell did not discuss the objective criteria and circumstances underlying this particular decision.
