Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rihad Koles has criticized OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) President Pia Kauma’s planned delegation visit to Georgia on January 8-10. Posting on X, Koles called the visit a “disastrous and ill-timed move,” highlighting significant concerns about the current political situation in Georgia.
Koles alleged that the Georgian government, under Bidzina Ivanishvili’s de facto control, is consolidating power through “Russian-style preventive arrests, draconian laws, violent suppression of protests,” and conducting elections that, while technically free, lack fairness and transparency. He argued that such a visit could be exploited by the regime as a propaganda tool, further legitimizing its authoritarian tendencies.
The MEP expressed frustration on behalf of other delegations, many of whom he claimed are outraged by the visit. Koles warned that this move risks critically undermining the credibility of the OSCE PA, an institution traditionally seen as a cornerstone of international democratic cooperation.
“If Pia Kauma feels so strongly about this visit, she should undertake it in a private capacity,” Koles wrote, insisting that taxpayer-funded institutions should not lend legitimacy to what he described as “an autocracy-in-the-making.”
The MEP concluded his statement with a sharp critique of leadership, warning that “weak leadership creates bad times” and urging Kauma to reconsider the visit to avoid damaging the OSCE PA’s reputation.
