OSCE chair fined for protesting in post-Soviet country
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who currently chairs the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was fined after taking part in an unauthorized opposition protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi earlier this week, local news outlet Tabula reported on Thursday, citing the Interior Ministry.
The unrest was the latest in a series of demonstrations that have swept the country in recent years. The Georgian authorities have repeatedly accused Western governments of backing the protests in an effort to undermine the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has refused to antagonize neighboring Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said the EU openly backed the demonstrators, who were “financed by foreign special services” in a manner similar to the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine.
The ministry told Tabula that Valtonen was fined 5,000 lari ($1,850) for “illegally blocking the road” during the demonstration.
Valtonen arrived in Georgia this week as OSCE chair, part of a regional tour of the South Caucasus. On Tuesday, she met with Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.
Later that day, Valtonen posted a video from in front of the Georgian Parliament, saying she joined the demonstrators who gathered to express their concerns over what she described as Georgia’s increasingly repressive political direction.
Shortly afterwards, Kobakhidze canceled a planned meeting with Valtonen. In an official statement, the government accused the OSCE chair of taking part in an “illegal rally” and making “false statements” about Georgia’s internal affairs.
The latest wave of protests erupted on October 4 following the closing of the polls in the country’s local elections. Crowds have breached the grounds of the presidential palace, scuffling with police who have used pepper spray and water cannons to repel them.
