EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Bush Visit to Georgia is a “Great Political Victory” -- Saakashvili

EURASIA INSIGHT

BUSH VISIT TO GEORGIA IS A "GREAT POLITICAL VICTORY" -- SAAKASHVILI
Molly Corso 5/11/05

US President George W. Bush’s visit to Tbilisi has provided a boost for President Mikheil Saakashvili’s reformist government. Saakashvili characterized the visit as a "great political victory" for Georgia, while citizens expressed enthusiasm for Bush’s comments on Georgia’s democratization process.

During his two-day stay in Tbilisi on May 9-10, the US president praised the achievements of Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution, and urged Georgians to persevere amid unavoidable difficulties during the reform process. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In addition, Bush said the country’s chief political issue – settling the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia – should be resolved through peaceful means.

As Bush prepared to depart, Saakashvili revealed that US officials had told him the visit to Georgia "was the best reception the American president has ever had."

"It [Bush’s visit] means that there are things we can do well," Saakashvili continued. "It shows that this country is capable of dealing with difficult tasks."

The only controversy connected with the visit came to light long after Bush had left the country. On May 11, National Security Council Secretary Gela Bezhuashvili announced that a dud grenade had been discovered not far from where Bush and Saakashvili stood addressing a crowd, estimated at about 100,000, on Tbilisi’s Freedom Square. The grenade, which was not primed to explode, never posed a threat to Bush or Saakashvili, US and Georgian officials insisted. Investigators believe that an individual tossed the grenade during Bush’s speech. Bezhuashvili told journalists that the incident seemed designed to "scare people and attract attention." The investigation was ongoing, US and Georgian officials indicated.

Despite the grenade incident, many Georgians seemed to share Saakashvili’s feelings of pride. Non-governmental organization activists gave Bush high marks for his actions and comments made in Tbilisi. Giorgi Meladze, a program director at the Georgian NGO Liberty Institute, praised Bush for reminding Georgians that building a democratic society can be a complicated process. "Reforms are painful. They will cause some distrust in the public, but it [the process] needs to be started," he said in an interview with EurasiaNet.

"I think this type of message helps the [reform] process be like a clock-moving and never stopping," Meladze said, adding that he was additionally encouraged by Bush’s call for the development of a strong and independent judicial branch of government. "We don’t have a judiciary branch," he said, although he noted that judicial reforms have commenced. "[They] need to have a guarantee of independence."

Bush also earned plaudits for his advocacy of a negotiated solution to the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts. Marina Meshvildishvili -- the president of Tskhinvali House, an alliance of 15 Georgian and South Ossetian NGOs that promotes conflict-resolution initiatives – suggested that if the rhetoric used by Bush had been employed over a decade ago, when the South Ossetia conflict began, much human suffering could have been avoided. "In South Ossetia they want peace as well," she said. At the same time, Meshvildishvili expressed disappointment that Bush’s meeting with representatives of minority groups lasted only 45 minutes, saying it was impossible to touch upon the intricacies of Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts in such a short time-frame.

Meshvildishvili said she would seek to secure US Embassy support for initiatives that could help spread the Bush message, including a joint American-Georgian program for youth in South Ossetia. "[What] do they [South Ossetian young people] know about democracy and civil society?" she said. "They don’t know anything about life outside of Tskhinvali [the Sought Ossetian capital]. … if one or two learned about the American style of life he/she would teach others and that would help [find a peaceful solution]."

Meladze expressed hope that Bush’s comments would prompt the Georgian government to rethink its current military build-up. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In his view, the government’s relatively huge outlays for upgrading the military are primarily designed to give Georgian leaders the option of using force to bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia back under Tbilisi’s authority. Now that Bush has discouraged the notion of a military solution, "maybe [that means] a cut in [Georgia’s] military spending and an increase in spending for more important things like education and reforms in the Justice Ministry," Meladze said.

Some Georgians listening to Bush’s speech on Freedom Square believed the US president’s willingness to promote conflict-resolution initiatives pertained to Tbilisi’s ongoing dispute with Moscow over Russian bases in Georgia. Georgian officials demand that two Russian bases be closed by the end of 2007, but Russian military leaders insist more time is needed. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "If the bases go, everything will fall into place -- like a flooded river returning to its banks -- and the country will develop quickly," Raman Arjvanidze, a WWII veteran from Tbilisi said.

Imedo Kavaratskhelia, another member of the crowd that heard Bush’s speech, said he expected US-Georgian cooperation to intensify. "For Georgia, it is really good that he [Bush] came here," Kavaratskhelia said. "After this, they [US leaders] will also do a lot for Georgians. That means Georgia will blossom."

Tariel Giorgadze, the president of the Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen of Georgia, said Bush’s visit would help Georgia attract foreign investment. He added, however, that expectations should remain low as Georgia strives to overhaul its financial sector. "The Georgian government needs to do several things to improve the business climate," he said in an interview with EurasiaNet. Among the main problems he listed were the Georgian government’s tendency to interfere with business, the imperfections of the current tax code and the latest decision to remove the Arbitration Court for businessmen. "Georgia has been given a great chance to improve the business climate, [and] the political situation -- internally and internationally," he said. "But the current administration must take advantage of the chance."

Fady Asly, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, agreed that a lot depends of the Georgian government. "It is a positive message sent to the world. If Georgia is good enough for Bush it is good enough for anyone," he said in a phone interview. "The visit of Bush is not enough; the Georgian government needs to work on creating an investor friendly climate."

Meladze called on the Georgian government to expand the scope of reforms and to improve implementation of measures already undertaken. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On a scale of one-to-10, "I can’t give it more than a three or a two," he said. "Human rights are not even on the [government’s] agenda."

Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Tbilisi.

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