EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Georgians Make Perilous Promise to Fight Corruption

EURASIA INSIGHT

GEORGIANS MAKE PERILOUS PROMISE TO FIGHT CORRUPTION
12/18/03

The United States, apparently impressed that Georgia’s new plans to fight corruption and indict corrupt officials before 2004, has agreed to provide unprecedented aid to Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. This would be a "reconfiguration" of Washington’s aid to Georgia, said a senior American official who spoke to EurasiaNet on December 4, and a fresh chance for a ministry that diplomats have long considered corrupt.

The American official, who spoke to EurasiaNet on the condition of anonymity, spent two days meeting with leaders from Georgia’s interim government. According to the official, an advisor from Washington will soon report to the ministry. This would be a major vote of confidence in the leadership of temporary president Nino Burjanadze and presidential contender Mikhail Saakashvili, who swept into power when former president Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in the face of mass protest on November 23. Defections from his security forces played a key role in forcing Shevardnadze to quit.

This show of support from the military may have emboldened the new leaders. They have promised to launch an anti-corruption campaign with several notable indictments before the January 4 parliamentary and presidential elections. Earlier, leaders had indicated that they were reviewing Swiss bank accounts of former bureaucrats. A "few names everybody knows" would be subject to arrest if they have not already fled the country, said Giorgi Arveladze, Burjanadze’s spokesman. In keeping with Saakashvili’s intense concern for legitimacy, he added that indictments would not be arbitrary. "There are investigations underway and when the results are ready, they will be publicly announced �.and in no single case will the legal requirements be violated," said Arveladze.

Shevardnadze’s abrupt departure, following worldwide accusations of vote-rigging in the November 2 parliamentary elections, left many questions about his 11-year term unresolved. Former Georgian government officials � and their business partners - probably embezzled "hundreds of millions" during his tenure, said the American official, who had conducted two days of meetings with new government leaders as part of a 12-member task force headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State B. Lynn Pascoe.

Pascoe has reportedly pledged a $5 million grant to replenish the bankrupt treasury and expand winter heating and food aid. The heating program would expand to subsidize 6,000 rural households, while the budget support could pay salary arrears for the armed forces, police and other security forces. Providing back pay would cement the military’s support, explained officials from both sides.

The United States is concerned about the influence of Russia as well as that of Islamic extremists in the region. For that reason, a reliable Internal Affairs ministry would appeal to many Washington strategists. The ministry’s reputation suffered during Shevardnadze’s term, complicating Bush administration efforts to establish a foothold against terrorism in Georgia. [For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Now, according to the Washington source, new Georgian leaders have submitted an ambitious list of ministry requests � including a rapid reaction force already receiving training from the Pentagon. Russia is trying to develop a separate rapid reaction force in Central Asia. [For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The United States would welcome a decisive strike against corrupt officials in Georgia, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We are not telling them who to go after, we’re just saying, "Look, the best way to send a message on corruption is to throw people in jail."

Arveladze echoed this line. "For the last fifteen years nobody has ever been held responsible for major corruption or stealing money from the budget or smuggling," he said. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"We should set the precedent that is going to be impossible in the future Georgia to get away with what officials have been getting away with for the last fifteen years."

This resolve could face a stark test. If Saakashvili, Burjanadze and ally Zurab Zhvania fulfill promises to tackle corruption, they will risk provoking violent counterattacks from the country’s extensive criminal underworld. Saakashvili and others have reportedly argued for striking before they can organize. Still, officials say they are bracing for violence � and possible attacks against the leadership.

"We expect them to fight for what they lost and what they are about to lose and unfortunately this fight will not be with roses in their hands," said Arveladze, referring to the flowers celebrants waved in Tbilisi after Shevardnadze resigned. "They are going to do everything possible to somehow disrupt the situation in the country."

In the two weeks since Shevardnadze resigned, Georgian officials have uncovered a cache of explosives near the state broadcasting office. Interior minister Gia Baramidze has also arrested at least two senior police officials on suspicion of drug dealing. Restoring the bloated 60,000-member police force will be a key challenge for the next government. The new government must establish a reputable police force, for the state’s long-term stability and for their own safety.

For the United States, credible law enforcement in Georgia would help safeguard a massive amount of aid. Washington has provided roughly $1.4 billion to Georgia since 1991, one of its most lavish per capita allocations in the former Soviet bloc. [For background, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The American official guesses that government coffers could swell by 50 percent � some 300 million dollars � if the government enforced levies on fuel and cigarettes. [For background see the EurasiaNet Insight archive].

Restoring lost money may be more difficult. "I don’t know where [the corrupt officials and their cronies] keep the money," the American official said. But he added that the new leaders seemed to have a "pretty good idea" of where the money might be.

Editor�s Note: Ken Stier is a freelance journalist who has reported from throughout the Caucasus and Asia.

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