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Georgian Opposition Vows To Protest 'As Long As Needed' Until President Resigns
April 08, 2009
(RFE/RL) -- The main opposition groups in Georgia plan to throw down the gauntlet to President Mikheil Saakashvili: they will begin a protest on April 9 that they say will continue indefinitely until he resigns.
The protest is scheduled to coincide with the 20th anniversary of a brutal Soviet crackdown against independence demonstrators in Tbilisi in which 20 people were killed. Opposition leaders see the new protests as a similarly momentous landmark for the country.
"I would say it is the final test for the nation, and [everything] depends on the extent to which we are able to stand there calmly, prudently, and to the end, says former Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili, head of the opposition Georgia’s Path party.
Zurabishvili adds that just as 20 years ago, "there is no turning back. Disbanding is out of question -- and whoever calls for that will be carrying out a task assigned to them by the government. The same goes for those who will attempt to strike deals, let alone those who try to instigate any kind of provocation or call for occupying any building."
Zurabishvili underscored that demonstrators will remain on the streets until the president steps down. Opposition activists expect some 150,000 people to take part in the action in Tbilisi, although government supporters have expressed doubt the divided opposition can muster such a show of strength.
Attempts At Dialogue
But discontent with Saakashvili has been running high, particularly since the disastrous five-day war with Russia last August. In a statement issued on April 7, the opposition accused Saakashvili of launching the war, as well as of widespread abuses of power, violations of property rights, election fraud, and ruining the economy.
Zurabishvili and other opposition leaders, including former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze, have insisted on no compromises. But fellow oppositionist Irakli Alasania, a former ambassador to the UN who heads the Alliance for Georgia coalition, told reporters that dialogue with the authorities remains a possibility.
"We are not rejecting dialogue. It is our wish to use dialogue to resolve the political and economic crises that the country was plunged into after the August war," Alasania said.
"We are calling upon the government to respond appropriately to the current political crisis," he added. "If they sincerely want the country to survive, let us avoid confrontation. If they -- and I'm referring to the leader -- really want to be remembered as facilitators of stability in Georgia, now is the opportunity to do so, and he should use it."
In the run-up to the protests, the government tried to open a dialogue with the opposition. Saakashvili has named Penitentiary and Probations Minister Dmitri Shashkin as his envoy to talks on national security, the economy, and political reform. However, the parties organizing the April 9 rally have not participated in those talks.
Last week, Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava proposed that a direct mayoral election in the capital be held in 2010; currently, the mayor is elected by the city council. This is one of the key reforms being demanded by the opposition, and ruling party lawmaker Givi Targamadze told the Internet newspaper "Civil Georgia" the proposal is "very healthy."
Calls For Calm, Threats Of Disorder
Many opposition leaders, however, are adopting a seemingly uncompromising stand. And with the government’s insistence that Saakashvili is democratically elected and will not step down his natural term ends in January 2013, many are concerned the confrontation could spin out of control.
Over the last couple of weeks, the government has accused some members of Burjanadze’s party of attempting to purchase weapons and plotting unrest. Georgian media reported that unidentified oppositionists had purchased military uniforms and were planning to create the impression that some army units had sided with the demonstrators.
For its part, the Saakashvili government was widely condemned at home and abroad for its brutal suppression of a demonstration in November 2007. Opposition activists have been warning for weeks of possible government provocations designed to create chaos and discredit the opposition.
On the eve of the protests, both sides were promising restraint and pledging to respect the constitution. A lawmaker from Georgia's ruling National Movement party, Chiora Taktakishvili, says that the government respects the public’s right to demonstrate.
"The government will undertake very careful measures, but it will definitely undertake measures if the public order is disturbed," Taktakishvili says. "It will use methods that are used by the European democratic governments to prevent turmoil and destabilization -- not to mention calls to violently overthrow a democratically elected government."
Pikria Chikhradze, of the opposition New Rightists party, says that the demonstration will be peaceful and urges police to eschew politics. "All police bodies should be protecting the public order, rather than the interests of a single political force," she says. "Consequently, the government has an immense responsibility, and this responsibility should be met when there are critical days in the country. And I very much hope the government will not be tempted to resort to provocations."
Caucasus affairs expert Mamuka Areshidze says the latest demonstrations are a dangerous moment for Georgia, one that outside forces -- including Russia, which opposes Saakashvili’s pro-Western foreign policy, and some wealthy Georgians living abroad -- may seek to use for their own ends.
"The weaker Georgia gets, the easier it becomes to beat it. And the [outside] forces that are interested in this are mushrooming day by day," Areshidze says.
"Some say these rallies and demonstrations are going to further destroy the country. I do not think this has to be the case. I think there is a chance the country will be plunged into chaos and total destruction. But there is also a chance that, in this situation, society will benefit greatly, and the government will concede a lot. In my view, this will be a better way out."
RFE/RL's Georgian Service contributed to this report
Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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