The main topics of the meeting were:
1. Rule of law and construction of the rule of law;
2. Extraordinary elections;
3. Constitutional amendments;
4. Issues related to the Charles Michel Memorandum;
5. The issue of polarization of the political situation;
"We are building a state governed by the rule of law, where law enforcement is paramount, and our Western partners are helping us and we thank them for that," Fridon Injia said at the meeting.
According to him, unfortunately, there is some pressure from European or American politicians or European parliamentarians, which is manifested in disregard for the law or excessive loyalty and tolerant attitude towards the perpetrator. It was the result of this pressure, and the examples of which we have especially recently, the pardon of criminals, which is perceived quite negatively in the Georgian society, which looks to the future with hope. This is well known to today's guests
. The position of the "European Socialists" is that the culprit should be punished, whoever he may be - former president, high-ranking official, or ordinary citizen, as other criminals have been punished and their number is 9,500 and they sit and pay the sentence. He (Saakashvili) is one of them. Therefore, all should be equal before the law. "Any pressure on this issue is categorically unacceptable for us," Fridon Injia said at the meeting.
As for the issue of reconciliation, as the chairman of the political group said, reconciliation is possible, as long as the perpetrator is fully accountable before the law. Direct reconciliation can take place with those who have not committed a crime in front of people and family.
"Those who have committed a crime must be held accountable to the end. Moreover, today there is not the principle of assembly, which was established by Saakashvili in his time, but the principle of absorption. Therefore, he is serving a sentence of up to 6 years in prison and not the 31 years that he was sentenced during his reign. Therefore, all offenders should be equal before the law. "Can you imagine what it would be like to release 9,500 prisoners on the pretext of reconciliation?" Said Fridon Injia.
As the chairman of the political group noted at the meeting, there are no legal or other grounds for holding early, early parliamentary elections in the country. This was confirmed by the work of the temporary commission of inquiry into the 2020 parliamentary elections, whose members, both from the opposition party, were Fridon Injia himself, as well as Davit Zilfimiani.
"A full-fledged investigation was conducted by the Commission of Inquiry. Dozens of people were questioned, specific ballot boxes were opened, where recounts took place, and according to the findings, there were some gaps or errors within the norm, which could not in any way affect the final results of the parliamentary elections. "Also, the 2021 local self-government elections, which were held under the updated Election Code, were much better organized, which was recognized by international observer organizations, including the OSCE / ODIHR," said Fridon Injia.
He believes that the issue of early elections should be avoided by certain political forces, because it can once again become the basis for tensions and unrest in the country, the beginning of stagnation of economic progress, not to mention the catastrophically large financial resources required by elections in general.
As for the constitutional changes, which envisage lowering the electoral threshold to 2% and reducing the number of deputies to 4 to form a faction, Fridon Injia said, "European Socialists welcome and support these changes, which were confirmed by the first reading of the issue in Parliament.
These changes will ensure the multiparty nature of parliamentary activities and improve the quality of democracy.
"We also believe that the parliamentary group and especially the small political parties that are represented in the parliament and carry out their parliamentary activities fully, should be provided with the minimum financial resources, of course, in accordance with the law, to be able to conduct political activities in order to "They do not find themselves in unequal and unjust conditions with regard to other political forces, while we want to build a state governed by the rule of law," said Fridon Injia.
At the meeting, Fridon Injia also focused on the issue of selection of judges and noted that the process is significantly different compared to 2012. Publicity today is much greater. There may be many things to be refined, but the process is going well.
As for the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, according to Fridon Injia, it must be changed in accordance with the requirements recommended by Europe. Of course, it is built on the Georgian mentality.
According to David Zilfimian, there is a great polarization in the country today and this word has even become fashionable. "The fact is that the" National Movement "is still fighting to come to power and I believe that it has no moral right to do so. "As for the issue of reconciliation, I do not think this issue is on the agenda at all, because to start discussing it must be a fact of repentance for the crime, which I do not see," said Zilfimian.
At the meeting, members of the Council of Europe Monitoring Committee were interested in the implementation of the Charles Michel Agreement of 19 April. According to Fridon Injia, the Charles Michel Memorandum initially played a positive role. "I think the Charles Michel agreement has played a positive role in easing the artificial crisis. The main issues of the memorandum have already been fulfilled. This refers to changes in the Electoral Code or the issue of electing judges. Under pressure from you and our partners, the perpetrators were released. These were countermeasures by the authorities. He then released 9,500 prisoners, but it does not happen that the offender is released in another country upon request. This is not happening in Europe, and if we are going to Europe, we must take this into account and we must all act in accordance with the law. The law should be the law for everyone. After that, the events developed in such a way that Charles Michel's memorandum replaced the Georgian Constitution, which was not acceptable to us. "All the media started with the discussion of Charles Michel's memorandum," Fridon Injia said.
According to David Zilfimian, the Charles Michel Agreement was a positive development and at that time it was really necessary and unequivocally if anyone fulfilled the Charles Michel Agreement, it was a constructive opposition. "Every time we talk about the opposition in Georgia, please divide it into two parts. An opposition that does not even go to parliament today and does not take part in parliamentary activities. So for our part, we believe that the Charles Michel Agreement was a positive agreement. "This agreement was fulfilled from the beginning to the end, and if anyone did not fulfill this agreement, it was a destructive opposition," said David Zilfimian.
The guests were also interested in the approach of the "European Socialists" to Georgia's accession to the European Union and NATO. They were also interested in their views on Russia. According to David Zilfimian, the sooner Georgia joins the European Union, the better it will be for the country. "We fully support Georgia's accession to the European Union. We are trying our best to speed up the process of Georgia's accession to the European Union. Despite much resistance. As for Georgia's membership in NATO, as you know, it does not depend on us. If we are not in NATO today, it is not Georgia's fault. Therefore, the sooner European countries end the blockade, the sooner Georgia will join NATO. "We will be in favor of this," said David Zilfimian. As for Georgia's relations with Russia, because no one will change our geography, it is logical that we should find a way to have neighborly relations with Russia, to minimize the aggression that exists today. "Georgia is occupied by 20% of the country's territories. We have an aggressor country next door, which has occupied our territories. We also understand well why Europe is careful not to see a conflict country in its composition, so as not to strain relations with Russia. It's very difficult for you and it's very difficult for us. "We are ready to overcome all these barriers," Zifimiani said.
According to Fridon Injia, the Georgian government has already announced the issue of joining the European Union and Georgia will make a statement in 2024 and the constructive opposition will do everything in their power to maximize the support of this process. "It's not up to us, and you know our problems well. That we have violated territorial integrity. Our number one task is to restore the territorial integrity of our country. This is the most important thing, "said Fridon Injia.
According to David Zilfimian, potentially, in the future, there should be a coalition government in Georgia, which will consist mainly of a constructive opposition. The reason why the constructive opposition is not developing against the background of the existence of two parties - "Georgian Dream" and "National Movement" today is not because the supporters do not want to vote, but because all elections are held by the "bad" method and not who By a more "good" method. In other words, the voters are afraid that on the one hand the "National Movement" will not return and the dream says that we should come to power again and not anyone else. "That is why the environment is tense. It is enough for the voters to know that the "National Movement" will not participate in the elections, then the voters of the National Movement will be distributed in the opposition and half of the "Dream" voters will be distributed in the opposition again. Then the fear will disappear that the "National Movement" will not return to the country with its bloody regime. This is a problem today, "said David Zilfimian.
According to Fridon Injia, except for two or three parties, the other parties are the same "National Movement" in their vision and rhetoric. "There is no difference in vision, nor in approaches, nor in rhetoric, nor in actions. All are one, except for two or three parties. "This is the 'National Movement', which wants to come to power not through elections, but through revolution," said Fridon Injia. "We are talking about what could be the solution. It would be best to announce to the National Movement that it will not run in the elections, but this is a fairy tale and an excluded topic. The solution is for the ruling party to consistently implement its statements. First - the rule of law, those who are guilty must all be punished. There are 2 thousand cases on the shelf in the prosecutor's office, which will not be seen. Behold, this is the greatest calamity. Those who are guilty should all be punished, then, all issues will be resolved. Normal elections will be held. The exception may be for certain categories of people. For example, mothers with many children, etc. Sh. This is our request, "said Fridon Injia. According to David Zilfimian, it is vital for the National Movement today to come to power so as not to be held accountable for the crimes committed. This is their whole starting point. "We demand the rule of law from the ruling party. In connection with the criminal acts that have already taken place
Approved, the authorities should take appropriate measures and the perpetrator should be punished. "Elementary issues have not been investigated since 2012," Fridon Injia said. At the end of the meeting, the guests mentioned that the issues raised by the deputies were important to them. According to Titus Korlatean, a member of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, it is important for them that the "European Socialists" support constitutional changes and changes in the Code of Administrative Offenses.
