Rene — A very Georgian coup
Topic(s): Georgia | Comments Off on Rene — A very Georgian coupA very Georgian coup
The people are the biggest losers in the ‘democratic revolution’
Charlotte Keatley
Saturday December 6, 2003
The Guardian
Since the non-violent revolution in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, two
weeks ago, hand grenades have been detonated outside opposition party
offices; a bomb blew in the windows of state TV while the Russian
ambassador was on air; the United Georgian bank was robbed and a
kidnap attempt made on the chairman; a former National Democratic
party leader received a volley of bullets through her window; and a
Russian embassy official was attacked in his home. Having ignored
Georgia during its 12-year struggle to create democracy, much of the
media gave the ousting of president Eduard Shevardnadze by the young
hero Mikhail Saakashvili the fairytale treatment, then dropped it from
the news. The demonstrations in Tbilisi built up over three
weeks. People gathered in protest against the rigged
elections. Saakashvili urged crowds on to the streets each
night. Friends told me they were alarmed at his rhetoric, too redolent
of Zviad Gamsakhurdia – the first president, elected in 1991 – whose
term ended in 1992 when he was ousted in a civil war. Yet even my most
rational friends had become implicit supporters of Saakashvili by the
final weekend of Shevardnadze’s rule.
It was the country’s St George’s day when Saakashvili splintered open
the doors of parliament and yelled at the old dragon,
Shevardnadze. This was a brilliant piece of timing. Using the
Georgians’ love of their mythic culture, Saakashvili became a hero,
seducing not only the people but the international community into
believing that this was a people’s uprising. My friends were
euphoric. Even now, they seem to have accepted a one-party state as
the best outcome.
No one seems to be asking the hard questions. Shevardnadze was due to
leave office in the elections of 2005, having served three terms as
president. Who decided power had to change hands now?
There were US flags in the crowds during the revolution as well as
Georgian ones. Saakashvili is a US-trained lawyer. His only experience
in government was, briefly, as minister of justice under
Shevardnadze. At 35 he is just old enough to qualify as a presidential
candidate. Together with Zurab Zhvania, leader of the Democrats, he
has been back to Washington on several visits in the past two years.
In May and June, Saakashvili and Zhvania held training courses for
1,500 supporters in demonstration techniques, guided by the Serbs who
ousted Milosevic from power in 2000. Overnight revolutions take a lot
of planning.
Shevardnadze began in office 11 years ago by selling national
resources, such as the main electricity company, to the US and
welcoming American investment. Like anyone who has lived in Georgia,
I am used to the constant power cuts. In November, when the lights
failed more than usual, a friend remarked wearily that the electricity
company had been resold to Russians. Perhaps Shevardnadze, nearing
retirement, was hedging his bets.
Georgia has two key attributes as far as America and Russia are
concerned. One is an oil pipeline connecting the Caspian supply to
the Black Sea; the other is a nucleus of Chechen rebels in the
mountains. Georgia is a mouse kicked about by two elephants.
Yesterday Donald Rumsfeld flew into Tbilisi to talk to the new
triumvirate of Saakashvili, Zhvania and the acting president, Nino
Burdzhanadze. He will visit the US military base at Krtsanisi, where
Georgians are trained in anti-terrorist methods. Georgia borders the
Middle East and Turkey as well as Russia.
Georgians deserve praise for staging peaceful demonstrations that
involved up to 50,000 people. But were they just extras in a
well-planned drama starring Saakashvili from American casting?
Saakashvili, Zhvania and Burdzhanadze have promised fair elections,
but they came to power by forcing the president from office and
jumping the election process. Where does that leave the people who
voted for parties other than Saakashvili’s National Movement and the
Democrats? Leading the opposition poll was the substantial – but
highly suspect – vote for Aslan Abashidze, warlord of the southern
region of Adzharia. A lawful re-election would have reduced his power
by democratic vote. He is now looking to Moscow for support.
It is a tragedy for Georgians, who queued for hours to vote on
election day and desperately want a democracy. In the new presidential
elections scheduled for January 4, Saakashvili is the only serious
candidate. The Labour party leader has announced that it is pointless
to stand. This was not a people’s revolution. It was a coup, masked by
the biggest street party that Tbilisi has ever seen.
· Charlotte Keatley has been commissioned by the RSC to write a play
about democratic change in Georgia
charlottekeatley@onetel.com