President Efthymiou speaks to reporters at an internally displaced persons camp in Georgia (Photo by Tina Schoen, OSCE PA)TBILISI, Georgia, 16 June 2011 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou today called for the reestablishment of the OSCE Mission to Georgia during a visit to Tbilisi.

Offering political support for the OSCE presence, he stressed that the mission would be a mechanism not only of investigation but also for confidence-building.

President Efthymiou also called for continuation of dialogue within the Geneva Process, recognizing that the Geneva forum, including the UN, EU and OSCE, is the most comprehensive format for discussing the conflicts in Georgia. He promoted the idea of strengthening this format for negotiations.

The visit to Georgia is one of several visits that President Efthymiou has conducted in recent months to areas of protracted conflict aimed at contributing a parliamentary perspective to the conflict resolution processes.

“Seeing the faces of the internally displaced persons, you realize the scope of the human consequences of the 2008 war,” President Efthymiou said. “I am pleased with the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly on this issue in 2010, and I look forward to taking what I have learned from this visit into our discussions at our upcoming Annual Session in Belgrade.”

Mr Efthymiou also discussed the democratic reform processes in detail with representatives of the authorities and with members of the opposition inside and outside of the current parliament.

“The upcoming elections in Georgia in 2012 and 2013 present a unique opportunity for this country to show the progress made. We all have to work to improve our democratic standing and promote freedoms in our societies,” Mr. Efthymiou said. “Democracy is defined not only by events on election day; what happens in the entire period between elections is equally important. In this respect, I call on the Georgian authorities to fully investigate the recent events during last month’s demonstration. Also, I see a need to further promote the freedom and professionalism of journalists in Georgia.”

President Efthymiou further welcomed the idea of the Georgian government to set up a working group including opposition parties to discuss electoral reforms. “Reaching a consensus or joint position on fundamental democratic steps and principles would be a very important progress leading up to the coming elections,” he said.

In Georgia, President Efthymiou met with the Speaker of Parliament David Bakradze, President Mikheil Saakashvili, Foreign Minister Gregory Vashadze, the Georgian Delegation to the OSCE PA, members of political parties represented in parliament, opposition figures outside the parliament, as well as representatives of civil society.