GEORGIA IS NOW ON THE VERGE OF JUST ANOTHER SHOCK
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
28.10.2008 GMT+04:00
The reckless move of the Georgian President spoiled the image
of not only the US but also that of the Ukraine and Israel, which
provided Georgia with arms, without thinking twice about the probable
catastrophic outcome of the war.
Georgia is now on the brink of just another shock. In an open letter
addressed to the President and published in the Georgian daily
"Rezonansi" on October 24, ex-speaker of the Georgian Parliament
and Saakashvili’s ex-ally Nino Burjanadze quite clearly speaks of
the forthcoming ‘relieve of the guard’. It wasn’t too long ago that
Burjanadze returned from the USA, and this letter is apparently the
result of consultations with the representatives of the US Political
Establishment. The letter is rather harsh and it can be regarded
as the message of a new Georgian president, to whose post, to all
appearances, the ex-speaker is gradually climbing.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Burjanadze writes: "You know quite well that I wanted
to quit the team several times because of disagreements with you and
your political team. I knew that it would have been better for my
personal political career to distance myself from those decisions
which not only did I disagree with but also strongly opposed. I
thought that November 7 would have been a bitter lesson for the
authorities. Unfortunately, it became obvious that the authorities
have failed to learn anything from November 7 and they only started to
make superficial, faзade changes…" "Continuation of a revolutionary
style of governance was unacceptable for me. Principle disagreements
between us about the style of governance and decision-making process
made it impossible to remain together in the same political team and
as a result I quit. Later, the 2008 August tragedy put us in face of
a new, gravest reality. From now on, even one minor wrong step can
turn fatal for the country," Burjanadze writes.
Most likely, the ex-speaker is the only Georgian leader in
Saakashvili’s closest circle who does not deny that Georgia lost
the August war. And not only the war does she mention. Burjanadze
also enumerates all the failures of Saakashvili’s policy, among them
unprecedented control over the media and business, aimed at maintaining
power; in fact one-party, fictional parliament; judiciary dependent
on the instructions of the executive authorities.
"The war has been lost and each Georgian will have to acknowledge,
think over and improve its historical burden, but, first and foremost,
this is the government’s responsibility. When a person, and moreover
a governor, cannot admit his failure, it brings new difficulties. The
government should be brave enough to admit its mistake. Only in such
case it will be possible to plan new policy rationally and unite the
society around it. Today, when the country still faces the threat
of destabilization and when there is an urgent need to overcome
the crisis, I have a strong reason to believe that the authorities
are not capable of averting another provocation. This opinion is
strengthened by unanswered questions concerning the August events,
by the fact that the Georgian government’s structure and mentality has
remained the same as it was before the August war. I clearly see that
the current authorities’ main priority is to maintain power. Hence,
a real threat exists that attempts to maintain power may cause you
to make further irreparable mistakes. I announce that in case of one
more adventure Georgia will lose young people, territories, it will
finally lose the western trust and support, any perspective of joining
Euro-Atlantic structures and will also face a great deal of other
problems, which are quite unpredictable. You should make a choice –
what is more important for you – the country, the promises given to
the people in 2003 or securing your personal power. I will struggle
to ensure that after five years of the revolution the country no more
faces a problem of stability, justice and elementary freedom. I should
be honest before the generation of my children!", Burjanadze stresses.
Let us admit that Nino Burjanadze’s letter is like one written by a
future Georgian president, who still by word of mouth is trying to
help Georgia out of the swamp which it had been driven into by the
myopic policy of Mikhail Saakashvili. The latter had truly believed
that the Russian forces would be fought against not by the Georgian
army but by the US or NATO battalions. He had also believed that an
instant blitzkrieg would be enough for Georgia to occupy a standing
close to such countries as the United States, France or Germany at
the worst. However, happened what was to happen – Georgia was able to
make no hero of herself; President Bush and his team could not clearly
explain why armed and well-equipped Georgian soldiers simply ran away
with the first gunshots from the Russian side. The reckless move of
the Georgian President spoiled the image of not only the US but also
that of the Ukraine and Israel, which provided Georgia with arms,
without thinking twice about the probable catastrophic outcome of
the war. On the other hand, the war was just a business and nothing
personal for these countries. However, for Georgia and for President
Saakashvili the war turned into a tragedy, which the latter, however,
is reluctant to admit.
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