Michael Roth: I see a huge lack of trust and faith in your country, and the only chance to regain trust and faith is free and democratic elections

I see a huge lack of trust and faith in your country, and the only chance to regain trust and faith is free and democratic elections, - the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament (Bundestag), Michael Roth, said at a meeting with the media in Tbilisi.

According to him, the attacks on opposition leaders and civil activists are shameful.

“Unfortunately, the situation in your country is getting worse, attacks on the opposition leader, on civil activists. People in your country are organizing demonstrations for freedom and democracy, for European values, but the police are beating them. This is shameful, this has nothing to do with a stable democracy, confrontation between parties, in parliament, in the government, sometimes between civil society and politicians is the essence of democracy, but peacefully, without pressure, humiliation, violence. Obviously, the regime's strategy is to put pressure on civil society, critical voices, society, free media, journalists, and this is shameful," Roth said.

He said that a struggle was underway in Georgia between liberal democracy and autocracy.

"That's why we can't avoid it, that's why we have to keep an eye on this country, because if you lose as a democratic, free country, Russian imperialism will win, and this is a huge threat not only to Germany, but to the entire free world. If Georgia loses, Armenia will lose, if Georgia and Armenia lose, Moldova will lose. So all these countries are connected and all these problems and challenges are connected. That's why I expect more involvement from the European Union," Roth said.

He said that autocracies use the same tools everywhere and always: discrimination against minorities, suppression of critical voices, pressure on free media.

“Here the regime is fighting civil society in very harsh ways, they are discriminating against minorities, especially sexual minorities, and they are fighting against free and independent media. But the people are not giving up. I have often heard: ‘Only 3,000 people came out on the streets, or 5,000 people came out and that’s not enough’ – for us in Germany, this is a huge number. Let’s not forget that when we celebrated Christmas at home, with our loved ones, thousands of people stood on the streets to send a clear signal: ‘we are not giving up, we are fighting for our country’, and all of these are patriots fighting for freedom. They want to put Georgia back on the path to Europe,” Roth noted.

He said there were two concerns about Georgia: the rigged elections and the violation of the country’s constitution.

“We are extremely concerned about two things: the first is the rigged elections and the second is the violation of the constitution. Euro-Atlantic integration is enshrined in your constitution, so no one can tell the people: ‘We are sorry, but we are stopping the move towards the European Union,’” Roth noted.

He said that granting candidate status to Georgia was not a gift to the government, but a sign that Europe wants Georgia to join the bloc as soon as possible.

“But the government, the majority of your parliament, ignored all the conditions. This is a merit-based process. This is not a gift or a game, this is a very serious matter for you and for us. So considering candidate status as a gift or something insignificant is a violation of your constitution. These two things change everything, that's why I cannot recognize the government, the new president or the parliamentarians. I see a huge lack of trust and faith in your country, and the only chance to regain trust and faith is free and democratic elections," Roth noted.