EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Pressure Builds on Shevardnadze as Georgian Crisis Boils

EURASIA INSIGHT

PRESSURE BUILDS ON SHEVARDNADZE AS GEORGIAN CRISIS BOILS
11/21/03

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze, after two weeks of unsuccessfully trying to quell protests over the parliamentary elections on November 2, is now attempting to sidestep protestors by convening a new parliament, with or without key opposition parties that have threatened to boycott. The new body is set to convene on November 22, but may not have the quorum it requires. As legal battles continued, Shevardnadze faced pressure of another kind. A number of high-ranking officials resigned in protest on November 20, and the United States condemned the vote in unusually harsh language. Massive demonstrations are due to resume in the capital on November 22.

The Labor party has announced its readiness to join the boycott by the two other leading opposition parties, pending a decision from the Supreme Court about its challenge to the election results. A Labor boycott would deny the pro-government bloc the two-thirds of seats it needs for a quorum, making the parliament invalid. The Georgian Supreme Court has three days to decide on the challenges to the election results, and its ruling may determine the fate of the new parliament.

Meanwhile, the most recent 24 hours in Georgia have seen intensifying rhetoric and increased activity from both sides. According to witnesses, a column of cars and buses from all over the country � full of supporters from the two most strident opposition blocs, the Burjanadze-Democrats and the Saakashvili National Movement � was approaching downtown Tbilisi at 5:30 pm on November 21. Yet another major protest in downtown Tbilisi has been called for 1 pm on November 22. According to one witness, a band of pro-government demonstrators has remained in the capital as opposition supporters stream in, and despite National Movement leader Mikhail Saakashvili’s promise of a "bloodless velvet revolution," fears of violence in the capital are growing. One witness says that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in Georgia has ordered its staff to stay home from 8 pm on November 21 until 10 am the following morning.

Rhetoric has become stark. Saakashvili, on November 20, said: "President Shevardnadze has turned into the dictator Eduard Shevardnadze." He also claimed that a million people had signed a petition endorsing his demand that the president step down. According to the local Prime-News service, Shevardnadze had volunteered to quit if a million people told him to do so. Tedo Japardize, head of Georgia’s Security Council, also said Shevardnadze’s team had mishandled the election.

In a further blow to Shevardnadze’s support, government broadcasting chief Zaza Shengelia quit on November 19 in protest over Shevardnadze’s criticism of the state channel’s allegedly neutral elections coverage. "At least one channel should work for the government," the president reportedly said. A popular talk-show host on the same channel suspended his broadcast until "tips and pressure" from the authorities had stopped. On November 20, Giorgi Lionidze, who had been Shengelia’s deputy, was appointed to replace him. Shengelia’s wife, Sesily Gogiberidze, resigned as Culture Minister soon after her husband quit. "The President should have not made this statement in public," she said, calling the president’s speech "confused" and "untidy."

Allegations have also emerged that Shevardnadze is targeting certain opposition members for harassment. Deputy Prosecutor-General Badri Bitzadze, who is married to Nino Burjanadze, speaker of the last parliament and a leader of the opposition Burjanadze-Democrats, quit on November 20, saying: "It is obvious that the government is exerting political pressure on the judiciary, part of which is the Prosecutor-General’s Office, which has to be a completely apolitical agency. There have been direct instructions and orders to investigate certain cases and turn a blind eye to others, and to prosecute certain leaders or members of the opposition."

The government is feeling pressure from overseas as well. The United States’ State Department, which had demanded as recently as November 18 that Georgians solve the crisis themselves, issued surprisingly strong criticism after the Central Election Commission released official results on November 20. "We are deeply disappointed in these results, and in Georgia’s leadership," said J. Adam Ereli, the department’s deputy spokesman. "The results do not accurately reflect the will of the Georgian people, but instead reflect massive vote fraud." He cited Ajaria, the power base for strongman Aslan Abashidze, as one notable hotbed of fraud. Abashidze has forged an alliance with Shevardnadze that many say enabled the president to rig elections.

According to Ereli, the United States is preparing a formal statement that may question Shevardnadze’s legitimacy. While stopping short of such a step in his remarks, he did say that "the parallel vote tally and exit polling conducted by reputable independent organizations differ significantly from the results released by the Central Election Commission, and these discrepancies in our view, represent or reveal an extensive manipulation of the vote count."

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the November 2 vote will taint Shevardnadze’s reputation whether or not he steps aside. The Washington-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs issued a November 19 statement calling the vote and its aftermath a failure. "I have always believed that Georgia has enormous potential, reflecting the courage and dedication of its people," institute chairperson and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in a statement. "Georgia’s political leaders have an urgent responsibility to reach a just outcome that respects fundamental rights, including the right to genuine elections."

But how those leaders can begin dialogue is unclear. With protest brewing in the capital, Shevardnadze and Abashidze reportedly barred media (except the channel that Abashidze controls) from covering the counter-rally in Tbilisi. Such conditions seem unlikely to produce a working parliament or to encourage dialogue between the president and opposition.

Editor�s Note: Marina Rennau, the Georgia coordinator for the London-based Media Diversity Institute www.media-diversity.org contributed to this report

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