US Senator Risch says Georgia needs to focus on democracy
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, December 5, 2022
US Senator Jim Risch was asked about Georgia's desire to join the European Union by Voice of America.
"It's not rocket science - if Georgia wants to become a member of the group of European countries, it needs free people with access to such freedoms as freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech.
As the senator noted, the country badly needs an independent and strong judicial system and the rule of law.
"Jin and I were observers sent by the State Department to the October 2012 elections. Then the current president Saakashvili was defeated and Ivanishvili won. Interestingly, we met both of them the next morning. I have to tell you that I watched those elections and I was incredibly impressed with the way they conducted those elections.
I left there with a strong feeling that Georgia had turned the page and that this was the first real, open election since the fall of the Iron Curtain. When we left, I was very optimistic about where the country was going, not because of who lost or who was elected, but because it was a free election.
I've been disappointed ever since. You asked me what to do? See... it's not rocket science. If they want to become a member of a group of European countries, they need a free people with access to freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech." said Jim Risch.
According to Senator Risch, Georgia needs to focus on democracy:
"We don't want to focus only on the negative, because obviously they're doing a lot of positive things, but they need to focus on their own democracy, and if they do that, they're going achieve the goal... and they have to achieve this, because they have all the resources to be a real productive member of the world," said Senator Risch.
