A Letter to Georgia

My Dear Georgian Friends,

The world does not know you. Maybe you do not know yourselves.

The image of Georgia abroad is of an under-developed, emotional, chaotic, divided, brutish, and sometimes criminal state. This is not entirely wrong. But it is far from the whole story. 

The points of light… the singers, the dancers, the builders, the designers, the businessmen, the chess players, the great minds and craftsmen… these are unknown. The independent Georgia of 1920, with scientists to brag about and with women serving in parliament, this is unknown.

I know Georgia. I have a deep affection for the country. I have made several dozen visits, first with President George W. Bush in 2005 and most recently last week. My wife, my in-laws, my step-son, my niece and nephew – they are all Georgian. We are invested in Georgia (making wine there) and we seek to contribute to the success of the country.

The stakes at the moment seem black and white. In the past several days in Tbilisi, as the government was pushing through the foreign agent law and beating political opponents, and the general public flooded the streets in massive protests, I spoke with many friends from all sides of the issues. The bottom line? The government has gone too far, and it needs to reverse course.

Georgians need to see themselves in the wider world, where for most people, their country is barely an afterthought. They must think about how to position the country for the long term. David the Builder and King Tamar focused on the country. So, too, can today’s generation of political leaders, government and opposition alike.

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Not just because of the law, but because Georgia is becoming marginalized in an increasingly dangerous world. Without a change of course, Georgia is drifting toward again becoming a province of the Russian empire.

If the world knew Georgia, they would understand that it’s a magical place. The ancient Greeks knew this; they sailed to its Black Sea shores and marveled at is fertility, its beauty, its wine, its bounty. Georgia is where they created the legend of the Golden Fleece.

Georgian women are among the most beautiful and strongest in the world. It is not by accident that someone who would have been called a “Queen” in the West was known as “King” Tamar in Georgia. Georgians have understood from antiquity the real power of women.

Georgian food is a gastronomic adventure. Flavorful, diverse, bold, sometimes simple, sometimes unrecognizable but delicious. Only the Lebanese, the Italians and the Japanese are in the same league.

Georgian geography is a marvel, and a delight for the senses. High, snow-capped mountains, stunning hills, sprawling vineyards, deep valleys, a sensuous coastline, landscapes blessed by sunshine and fresh air. According to popular humor, it is the land God set aside for himself after seven days of creating the rest of the Earth.

Georgia gave the world wine — archaeological evidence indicates that winemaking began in what is now Georgia over 8,000 years ago. Thank you Georgia!

Georgians are Europeans. They are not destined to be enslaved in a Russian empire. They became Christian in the earliest days of Christianity, long before Moscow even existed. Their alphabet was crafted among Jerusalem scholars. Tbilisi has been home to a vibrant Jewish community for centuries, and within one block in Tbilisi, one can find a synagogue, a church, and a mosque. Saint George, slaying the dragon, has become a Georgian cultural symbol, even though tradition places the story far, far away. The pulse, the fashion, the sensibilities in Georgia, these are all European.

But the world does not know this. The world sees a small country. A poor country sandwiched between Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia. A country that fights against itself with such regularity that there is nothing outsiders can do to help.

“A small country, far away, about which we know nothing” was the dismissive comment Neville Chamberlin used to justify his assent to Hitler’s seizure of the Sudetenland in 1938, and later all of Czechoslovakia. Georgians should be worried that the same sentiment could now be applied to the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, and indeed to all their lands

My dear friends, there are less than 3.5 million Georgians in Georgia, and a couple million more abroad. More people live in a New York suburb or a Chinese rounding error. The rest of the world will scarcely notice if Georgia implodes and fails. So why do you fight each other? You cannot afford it. You actually need each other if you are going to have a country.

To my friends in the ruling party, Georgian Dream: Why do you seek to impose your will on a freedom-loving population? You know in your hearts that the foreign agent law is not about transparency, but about labeling some of your fellow citizens as traitors when they are not.

You could have ridden the achievement of EU candidate status into a victory in the October elections. Why do you persist in this? Why do Georgian political leaders, regardless of party affiliation, not work together for the greater national interest?

To my friends in the opposition: Why do opposition politicians insist on each having their own party, instead of joining hands in unity? Why do former United National Movement (UNM) and former Georgian Dream politicians still stand apart, when together they represent the diversity of the Georgian public?  There is no “purism” in politics. Human beings are flawed by nature. Yet by working together, they can accomplish deeds that no person alone can achieve.

To the policemen and intelligence operatives in the street: Why do you beat fellow Georgians? They are your brethren. They are your neighbor’s children and grandchildren, your own aunts and uncles and cousins. Wake up.

Georgians must lift each other up, not beat each other down. The Georgian people – all of them – deserve a future, not a fight.

To all the leaders in Georgia: Please, stop demonizing your opponents and instead find ways to respectfully disagree, and at the same time work toward a common goal of building the great nation Georgia once was, and can become again. What is important is that Georgia succeeds. Country First, as John McCain would say.

Georgia’s success will be a success for everyone, but Georgia’s failure will be a failure for everyone. And if Georgia fails, the only country ready to pounce and steal from Georgia is Russia.

Do not be confused. Western countries have supported Georgia’s freedom and independence. Russia has attacked and stolen from Georgia. China is far away and cares only for itself. Russia still occupies 20% of Georgian territory, and they have an appetite for all of it. Violent targeting of political opponents in Georgia only benefits Russia.

How can Georgians work together? Here are a few modest ideas.

Withdraw the Foreign Agent Law. Even Georgian government officials know that this is a Soviet-style repression tactic, first used by Putin in Russia in 2012. It has nothing to do with transparency, nothing to do with US-style legislation, but everything to do with labeling parts of society as traitors, even though they are patriots who simply have independent points of view. After President Zourabishvili vetoes the law, take the opportunity to withdraw it and start with a clean slate.

Agree and Support Basic Principles. The irony in observing the animosity among both government and opposition forces is that on substance, they all say they want the same thing: Georgia’s European integration. But in practice, the government is putting up roadblocks. After withdrawing the foreign agent law, there should be a national dialogue about how to achieve integration into Europe. Above all, commit to free and fair elections, and letting the Georgian people choose their own destiny.

Consolidate Opposition Forces. Every healthy democracy has both a government and an opposition, who compete within the rules of democratic politics. Georgia has a government but a completely fragmented opposition, which only helps the government. What difference does it make if one-third of the population votes for political movements other than the current or former government if these votes are then scattered among a dozen parties that never cross the threshold to enter parliament? The views of all these voters would be lost. 

To avoid this, opposition parties must put aside their demand for political uniqueness and instead form a single platform representing the best of society – young protesters, independent distinguished voices, former Georgian Dream, former UNM, diaspora, etc. There must be a neutral platform where all Georgian patriots can be equally welcome — even those serving in government today. A broad-based movement to represent the Georgian people is a must.

Bring Forward a Technocratic Government. Instead of populating the government with politicians, political leaders should instead agree to appoint a technocratic government for at least one year simply to rule the country on a professional basis. Politicians will of course always have a veto. But putting people into cabinet positions based on party affiliation alone will only perpetuate the cycle of cynicism and jealousy that already afflicts Georgia to this day. A government without political affiliation could break this cycle.

Do Not Demonize and Prosecute Political Opposition. The current government must immediately cease the violence, harassment and persecution of the political opposition and society as a whole. But let’s imagine what now seems impossible. There is a free and fair election in Georgia, and the government loses. Regardless of who wins, it will be essential for a future government not to go down the road of political retribution and prosecution. This will only lead to more self-destruction.

Instead, whoever takes government after the coming election should do everything possible to build national unity. There must be a promise of stability, peace, a genuine rule of law, and European integration going forward. Re-litigating the past will only lead to future conflict. The Georgian Dream ran on this platform in 2012, but now they have gone astray, doing exactly what they accused the former UNM government of doing before them.

Good luck, my Georgian friends. The door to the EU and NATO is open. Freedom, prosperity, and security await. We want you to join us as equals and we are ready to help.

But Russia wants to subjugate you and will do so if you let them. They are doing everything possible to accomplish this.

Please reverse the targeting of citizens and civil society, build a great country, join hands with each other, be brave, and be part of the free, prosperous, and secure Euro-Atlantic community. We are waiting for you with open arms.

Ambassador Kurt Volker is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA.) A leading expert in US foreign and national security policy, he served as US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations from 2017-2019, and as US Ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009. 

This article is reprinted with the author’s permission from Europe’s Edge – CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America.

All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis, or Kyiv Post.  

See the original https://cepa.org/article/a-letter-to-georgia/