Russian MP says Georgian premier’s death was an assassination

Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow
3 Feb 05

The death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania is down to Georgian
patriots who want the country to be re-united with Russia, the leader
of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and deputy speaker of
the Russian State Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovskiy, has said.

Reporting on the reaction among Russian parliamentarians to Zhvania’s
death, Russian Ekho Moskvy quoted Zhirinovskiy as saying that he had
“long predicted that, following the velvet revolution, the events in
Georgia would take precisely this course. There have been frequent
attempts on the lives of the leaders of that republic in the past,
too, but according to Zhirinovskiy, the powerful KGB structure
prevented possible murders. Now the system of security is
insufficiently developed in Georgia and that is why Zhvania
died. Moreover, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
has no doubt that it was an assassination rather than an accident
because a normal adult would always be able to detect the smell of
gas. Moreover, Zhirinovskiy is sure that this tragic situation will
continue to develop further. Zhvania’s death is most likely to have
been caused by Georgian patriots who are for re-unification with
Russia. This is merely the first stage. It is a warning to [Georgian
President Mikheil] Saakashvili that he will be the next to
go. Georgia’s only way out, Zhirinovskiy opines, is to ask for
re-unification with Russia. If Saakashvili decides not go for that, he
too will be killed, the deputy added,” the radio said.