Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-04-Speech-3-558-000"

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"Mr President, I think the debate we are having here shows exactly why we need one. We have had many visitors here in the last few days from various levels of Georgian society – government, opposition, the new united opposition that is going to run – and we are hearing lots of different things. I think it is not for us to come down on one side. It is for us to define what we think is necessary for a democratic modern country to do. What we are really concerned about and what I am concerned about – and what our debate should be about – is to warn Georgians, be it government, opposition or citizens, that a war of words and non-transparent conditions for elections is something that is harming, or could harm, the image of Georgia, not just in this Parliament but in Europe and in Georgia itself. A statement by the National Democratic Institute says that it is ‘concerned about growing political polarization in the country and a dearth of civil discourse among political leaders’. Therefore, what I think we should do is make it very clear that a war of words is not helpful, that there is a need for transparency on campaign financing and on party financing for everyone, whether government or opposition. I personally do not like oligarchs in politics – how much money you have should not be the criterion for whether or not you should be elected. It is about visions as the previous speaker has said. It is about improving and having the political will to improve human rights, the economic situation and democracy in the country. There has been one positive development, and that was an amendment to media laws prescribing that every cable network has to transmit all TV stations in the pre-election period. I think that was a very positive thing. One thing I am really concerned about is the situation of the over-crowded prisons in the country. Yes, the crime rate has been reduced. However, two political activists were recently sentenced to respectively 35 and 45 days imprisonment for petty hooliganism. This is something, especially in a pre-election period, that should not happen. I call again on the authorities to ask the government and the opposition, everybody who wants to run, to calm down and ensure transparency for the elections. Hopefully we will have free and fair elections in a democratic country."@en1
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