Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summons Norwegian Ambassador to Georgia Regarding Mikheil Saakashvili's Human Rights Award and Her Comments
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
The Ambassador of Norway to Georgia, Helene Sand Andresen, was asked a question about Mikheil Saakashvili being awarded the Human Rights Prize and responded to Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili's Anders Breivik comparison and called it 'extremely inappropriate'.
The written response of the Norwegian Ambassador was released by Mtavari Channel.
According to Helene Sand Andresen's response, the award which the third president of Georgia received is given annually by the conservative party of Norway and it does not express the positions of the Norwegian government.
"The Embassy of Norway in Tbilisi was not informed about the awarding of the former president, Saakashvili until we learned about it in the media. I will add that I am surprised by the comparison with the terrorist Behring Breivik, which I consider extremely inappropriate," said the Norwegian ambassador.
After Helene Sand Andresen's response was published, Andresen was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia regarding the award by the Norwegian conservative party to Mikheil Saakashvili for the promotion of human rights and Andresen's comment on this matter.
"The Ambassador in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia explained the negative attitude of the Georgian side due to the mentioned fact, which is related to the violations of human rights and abuse of power by the government during the rule of Mikheil Saakashvili, for which Mikheil Saakashvili and many representatives of his government have been convicted or have already served their sentences.
As it was mentioned in the agency, the mentioned step of the conservative party of Norway does not contribute to depolarization in Georgian society and is insulting to the citizens and their family members who were victims of the criminal acts committed during the rule of Saakashvili. As the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway noted at the meeting, the awarding of the prize to Mikheil Saakashvili does not represent the position of the Norwegian government and is an initiative of a specific political party," the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads.
According to the Ministry's report, the parties at the meeting once again confirmed the friendly relations between Georgia and the Kingdom of Norway and expressed their readiness to promote the development of cooperation between the countries in the future.
