Soros Downplays Role in Georgia Revolution
By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI

The Associated Press
05/31/05 17:53 EDT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) – U.S. billionaire George Soros on Tuesday
praised Georgia’s “Rose Revolution,” which catapulted opposition
leaders to power 16 months ago, but played down the role of
organizations that received funding from his foundation.

During his three-day visit to the Caucasus Mountain nation, Soros
has been met with protests by Georgian nationalists who allege he
is the power behind the pro-Western government of President Mikhail
Saakashvili.

Soros told a news conference that critics have exaggerated the role
played by organizations who received funding from his Open Society
Institute, which was holding its 10th anniversary commemoration
in Georgia.

“I’m very pleased and proud of the work of the foundation in preparing
Georgian society for what became a Rose Revolution, but the role of
the foundation and my personal has been greatly exaggerated,” Soros
said in response to questions by reporters. “I think you here must
know more than anybody else that the Rose Revolution was entirely
the work of Georgian society.”

Protests against election fraud snowballed into demonstrations that
came to be known as the Rose Revolution. The demonstrations toppled
the corruption-tainted regime of Eduard Shevardnadze and catapulted
Saakashvili to power.

Soros, who met with Saakashvili on Monday, cited the subsequent
popular uprisings in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan that threw out entrenched
leadership in those two former Soviet republics and brought some
opposition leaders to power.

“And I think that there is an inspiration throughout the region to
build freedom and less oppressive and less corrupt governments. But
the foundation is not engaged in preparing revolutions – that is not
the mission of the foundation,” Soros said.

Some Georgian politicians have alleged that Soros had personally
appointed seven Georgian ministers to their jobs and was paying
their salaries.

Up to this year, some government salaries were, in fact, paid by
international organizations, but as of 2005 the state budget has been
covering them.

“Neither I nor the foundation exerted any influence about the selection
of the people who were entitled to these supplemented salaries,”
he said.

The billionaire also said opposition protests during his visit were
a sign of Georgia’s democratic process.