William Courtney, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the RAND Corporation and former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, emphasized the longstanding U.S. support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity at the congressional hearing on supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and democracy on June 4.
“The foreign agents law, modeled on the Russian repressive law, has sparked the largest popular protest since its [Georgia’s] independence,” he said, adding that the ruling GD “may abuse the law to protect its hold on power.”
Referring to the recent announcement of visa restrictions, the former U.S. ambassador to Georgia noted that if the GD government rigs the upcoming parliamentary elections, “relations will take a turn for the worse.” He noted that, as happened in Russia, the government could deny access to independent election monitors and disqualify candidates. He also said that the GD could emulate Russia in other ways, such as labeling civil society organizations as “undesirable.”
The hearing came amid the recent adoption of the Russian-style foreign agents law and the U.S. announcement of sanctions against those undermining democracy in Georgia and a comprehensive review of all U.S.-Georgian cooperation, as well as the introduction of the MEGOBARI Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, and another piece of legislation- Georgia People’s Act (GPA) in the U.S. Senate, both of which envisage imposing sanctions on Georgian officials and reviewing U.S.-Georgia relations.
