Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has started hearings on the Draft Deoligarchization Law, but Georgian Dream leaders continue to insist it will not concern Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man and the de facto ruler.
‘Deoligarchization’ is one of the 12 recommendations put forth by the European Commission before Georgia to obtain the European Union membership candidacy status.
Georgia, unlike Ukraine and Moldova, was denied the status and given the recommendations implementation of which must be reviewed in near future.
In a July resolution, the European Parliament called to sanction Mr Ivanishvili.
In a high-profile resolution adopted on June 9, the European Parliament specially expressed “concern over the destructive role played by the sole oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, in Georgia’s politics and economy, and the level of control he exerts over the government and its decisions, including those on the politically motivated persecution of journalists and political opponents; is deeply worried by Ivanishvili’s exposed personal and business links to the Kremlin, which determine the position of the current Government of Georgia towards sanctions on Russia; calls on the Council and democratic partners to consider imposing personal sanctions on Ivanishvili for his role in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia.”
Critics say the Government bill is merely intended to formally “check the box” while Mikheil Sarjveladze, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, during the discussions in Committee argued that - “in order to be qualified as an oligarch, an individual must have influence over the government and be using a state for his own interests,” which “is not the case with Ivanishvili.” He publicly claimed that the proposed deal will not apply to Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Kakha Kaladze, Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary General also dismissed the idea that Mr Ivanishvili could be considered an oligarch and advised journalists to read books about his philanthropic deeds.
GD chairman Irakli Kobakhidze went a step further claiming it is the Georgian opposition backed by oligarchs.
“There are no oligarchs on our side, there are several on their side,” he said insisting Georgian Dream was simply importing the Ukrainian law on oligarchs.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan cautioned against the copy-paste approach.
“I personally don’t think it’s always helpful to just borrow somebody else’s law without tailoring it to the specifics of your country’s situation. There are many good examples out there that can be examined and crafted into something that is appropriate for Georgia,” – said Ambassador Degnan.
She further argued for greater involvement of the opposition civil society and transparency. “We all are watching to see if Georgia’s leaders can do what is necessary to achieve this goal that is a clear will of the Georgian people which is to become fully integrated into the European family,” she added.
Georgian Dream’s approach will likely not go down well with Georgia’s supporters in the west.
“If Georgian Dream doesn't understand what de-oligarchization means, I will help them to understand - it means "de-Bidzinization" or "de-Ivanishvilization" of Georgia,” leading MEP Rasa Jukneviciene said in July.
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