United States national security specialists and American experts on Georgian issues are responding to the developments in Georgia with an open letter. The appeal, titled “Open Letter on Georgia from Former American Diplomats,” is signed by 17 former diplomats.
“The letter reflects our concerns and presents policy measures that the United States government can take to respond to these urgent challenges to the rights of the Georgian people,” the introduction states.
The authors of the letter are David Kramer and John Herbst. Kramer is the executive director of the George W. Bush Presidential Institute and a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights. John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan, served in the State Department for more than 31 years, and is now the executive director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
In a joint letter published on December 4, they express concern about the recent deterioration in the situation regarding freedom of speech and expression in Georgia. The signatory diplomats are also concerned about the longer history of disregard for democratic norms in the country ruled by the Georgian Dream.
In addition to Kramer and Herbst, the signatories include: former U.S. Deputy Secretaries of State Paula Dobryansky, Daniel Fried, and Evelyn Farkas. Also signing are: Alexander Vershbow, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Russia; Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO; Ian Kelly, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia; Kenneth Yalowitz, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia and Belarus; William Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine; Robert Cekuta, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan; Ret. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, and others.
We offer the full text of the letter signed by 17 former diplomats:
“We, friends of Georgia, including former American diplomats who served and/or worked on Georgia-US relations, condemn in the strongest terms the violence perpetrated by the Georgian authorities against peaceful protesters in Tbilisi. We also find it difficult to understand the decision of the Georgian authorities, led by the de facto leader of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, to suspend ongoing negotiations with the European Union. It was this decision, praised by Russian leader Vladimir Putin within minutes of its announcement, that led to the recent demonstrations involving tens of thousands of Georgians.
Since the EU decided last December to offer Georgia candidate status, the Georgian Dream government and parliament have taken significant steps in the wrong direction. They have adopted a Russian-style law on NGOs and the media, attacked the LGBTQ community, attacked the “Global War Party” [meaning the United States], absurdly claiming that it was trying to drag Georgia into a war against Russia. And finally, they have held elections that, according to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, were marked by “concerns about the recently adopted law and its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society.” Georgian Dream representatives have verbally attacked former US Ambassador Kelly Degnan and members of Congress. The whole series of developments has been praised by Russia and Putin.
Over the past three decades, the United States has provided more than $6.5 billion in assistance to Georgia. The United States has supported the development of democracy and a market economy in Georgia since independence. And Georgia has become one of the leaders of reforms more broadly, among countries in the region, reflecting the will of the Georgian people. The vast majority of Georgians are very pro-American and pro-European, and they want to join the European Union and NATO.
This is clearly a critical moment in Georgia’s history, with implications for the South Caucasus and beyond. At stake is Georgia as a beacon of freedom and reform. Given the longstanding support of the Georgian people on their path to democracy by the United States, the time for action is long overdue.
This authoritarian policy has been implemented by officials in Tbilisi and their agents, who are driven by vested interests. The United States has the opportunity to influence their calculations and support the Georgian people. We see that the US State Department has condemned the recent violence. We now call on the United States to hold those responsible accountable.
This means that the United States should take the following measures:
"All of these measures will be more effective if they are taken together with the European Union. With or without the European Union, these steps will leave no doubt that the United States stands unequivocally with the overwhelming majority of the Georgian people."
