"Don't lie to your followers" Sharp criticism of Alain Berset after trip to Georgia

Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has come under fire following a visit to Georgia. The opposition accuses him of legitimizing the pro-Russian regime through meetings with government representatives.

Former Federal Councillor Alain Berset (52) has been Secretary General of the Council of Europe for over 100 days. His trip to Georgia has been met with criticism.

The reason: Berset spent a few days in the capital Tbilisi shortly before Christmas and met several government representatives there, which he recorded on X-ray. These included the head of government Irakli Kobakhidze, parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili and the billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, had introduced the controversial agent law. This classifies media and NGOS as foreign agents if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

Georgian opposition members criticized him harshly on X, as the "SonntagsZeitung" writes.

Mikheil Kavelashvili at the center of tensions

However, Mikheil Kavelashvili, the new president of Georgia, is at the center of the political tension, it continues. The former professional footballer played for FC Zurich, FC Basel and FC Sion, among others. He was elected almost unanimously by the electoral assembly in mid-December. However, the opposition does not recognize him and accuses the pro-Russian ruling party of electoral fraud.

At a press conference in Tbilisi, Berset recalled Georgia's 25-year membership of the Council of Europe. He emphasized the importance of freedom of the media, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and announced the establishment of the Venica Commission. A working group to evaluate the events in Georgia. Berset also welcomed the Georgian government's announcement to revise the controversial law, writes the SonntagsZeitung.

Reproaches to Berset

"It is extremely regrettable that someone as influential as Alain Berset has reduced Georgia's existential crisis to a law," writes Marika Mikiashwili, a member of a young liberal opposition party, on X. In her opinion, the population "doesn't really care" about the law. What the people want are new and fair elections. Any negotiation with the "illegitimate and violent regime" would be a betrayal.

Other critics of the regime agree with her. One wrote: "Don't lie to your followers." According to the accusation, Berset did not want to talk to the oppressed and political prisoners. Instead, it was the NGOs who had demanded a dialog with the representative from Strasbourg.

Mikiashvili writes: "If you cannot help the Georgian people, at least stop supporting the regime that oppresses Georgians in the name of Russia." And further: "To put it clearly after the Berset disaster: either you come to Georgia to put pressure on the regime to hold new elections, or you don't."

Berset defends himself in an interview with "Blick"

Berset defended his stance on Georgia in an interview with "Blick": he had made it very clear to the government that human rights, democracy and the rule of law must be respected at all times. After all, membership of the Council of Europe also entails obligations. "We are not a wellness center."