‘Political curtsey’ to occupant should be punished
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, August 10
Georgia’s new Ambassador to Switzerland and former deputy secretary of the National Security Council under the President of Georgia, Levan Bodzashvili says a “political curtsey and treacherous conformism” to the occupant country should be declared as illegal.
Bodzashvili, who is an expert in constitutional law, says without this, writing down in the Constitution of Georgia that the country aspires to NATO and EU membership will “lose its meaning.”
“The only effective lever against the Russian occupant policy is public unanimity against their illegal activities,” Bodzashvili said.
The statement came after members of the Alliance of Patriots parliamentary minority held meetings in Russia, a country with which Georgia has no diplomatic relations after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.
The meeting was strongly condemned by almost all opposition parties in Georgia, demanding that such an action be declared as illegal.
The ruling Georgian Dream party stated “they had nothing to do with the meeting”.
Shalva Shavgulidze from Free Democrats opposition stated that only government representatives should have the right to hold meetings with the occupant country when it is necessary.
The Alliance of Patriots state they will “strongly protest” such a restriction if adopted.
They believe they can ease relations with Russia through their own dialogue.
Three MPs out of a total six of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG) left for Moscow to meet Russian parliamentarians and discuss various issues with them in mid-July.
APG MPs Ada Marshania, Nato Chkheidze and Giorgi Lomia met representatives of the Russian ruling party, Yedinaya Rossiya, and the Communist Party at the CIS Committee.
The visit of the Georgian MPs to Moscow was initiated and scheduled by of one of the leaders of the Russian Communist Party, Leonid Kalashnikov.
Kalashnikov said that one of the main criteria of choosing the APG was the party’s “positive attitude” towards Russia.
He and others received an invitation to Tbilisi by the Georgian MPs.
