Georgian Parliament official slams OSCE Moscow Mechanism report as “list of dreams and fairy tales”

Levan Makhashvili, the chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European integration committee, on Thursday sharply criticised a recent report prepared under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, calling it a “list of dreams and fairy tales” of the domestic opposition and their supporters in Brussels.

Commenting on the findings of the fact-finding mission organised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Makhashvili said the document reflects the views of the opposition United National Movement party and its founder, the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, rather than an objective assessment.

In his remarks, Makhashvili stressed that the report effectively calls on the Georgian state to give up its sovereignty, something he said will not happen.

“When you fail to mention a single word about violence against the state and society, this clearly demonstrates the ‘objectivity’ of this conclusion. The spirit of this document implies that the state should abandon its functions, transfer its sovereignty to foreign powers and dance to their tune. The state certainly does not intend to do this. It is regrettable that despite the fact that we approached this issue in an absolutely open and constructive manner, in return we received a document filled with lies and false information”, the official said.

The report issued under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism calls on the Georgian authorities to repeal several laws, including legislation on transparency and the protection of family values. It also recommends abolishing provisions related to foreign grants in the law on grants, revoking amendments to the law on broadcasting that concern foreign funding and content restrictions, and scrapping the so-called Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)-style requirements.