Category: Nino Burjanadze

Irakli Alasania comments on his campaign and Nino Bujanadze's trip to Moscow

March 8, 2010 by georgiamedia

Irakli Alsania, leader of the Alliance for Georgia and candidate for mayor of Tbilisi says that, although he has little money with which to mount an election campaign, he is picking up volunteers who are getting his message out door-to-door in Tbilisi.

Currently the "air war" - the electoral battle in the mass media, particularly the broadcasters - is dominated by incumbent mayor Gigi Ugulava while the opposition seem only to gain coverage for the interminable dispute over should be the single opposition candidate for the mayor's office.

But if the opposition can make inroads in the "ground war" - the hard slog of door-to-door talking and voter mobilisation they could begin to significantly dent Ugulava's undoubted current advantage.

Alasania is having to walk a fine line: pressing home his status as what most agree is the opposition's front-runner to squeeze other opposition candidates' votes while avoiding getting personally drawn into a slanging match with anyone other than the mayor - who has managed to stay above the fray precisely because of the opposition's internal divisions.

Now, says Alasania, in an interview with the Georgian Times, that has to change:

My political force, the Alliance, and myself as a candidate are going to be fully involved in campaigning, in making people understand that we are offering a change, a change for better. We are going to do a better job for them when we are the local government, in the Mayor’s office. For me these few months before the elections will be about campaigning and bringing change to the population.

...at this point we are financing the campaign with our own resources and we do not have much of an operation in the regions now for that reason. But I want to declare that we have a lot more volunteers working for us now. Door to door and town hall meetings will be important for our campaign, and these do not require much money. It requires just will and effort from the political side to be engaged in a direct dialogue with the population of Tbilisi.
 

Asked about fromer parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze's trip to Moscow, the former Georgian ambassador to the UN doubted it would have any lasting impact on Russian-Georgian relations:

I think the Georgian-Russian relationship has a future, but it will be a long time before we start political talks on the most sensitive issue for Georgia, which is the fulfillment by the Russian Federation of the agreement of August 12 2008 which requires them to leave Georgian territory. I do believe that political talks can lead naturally to the fulfillment of this agreement, but first and foremost I think we have at this point to concentrate all our efforts on containing Russia, not soliciting more aggressive behaviour from it, and start building our relationship with the Abkhazian and Ossetian population step by step. At this point I do not see any breakthrough possible through talks between the opposition and the Government of the Russian Federation. When we are in government after wining the elections, then of course we will start cementing our foreign policy priorities towards Russia as well.
 

Fallout over Moscow: reactions to Nino Burjanadze's visit

March 5, 2010 by georgiamedia

Once again the state-controlled media in Georgia are giving more time to events in a foreign country - Russia - than in Georgia.

Previously the target of their venom was Zurab Noghaideli, now it is Nino Burjanadze, whose decision, seemingly taken close to the last minute, to meet Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, unleashed a torrent of abuse on last night's evening news bulletins - the first fifteen minutes of the 9pm Kurieri bulletin on Rustavi 2 were essentially given over to people attacking her.

If the earlier demonisation of Noghaideli is any guide then we can expect more to follow - such as mock executions.

But Burjanadze's decision to meet Putin also caused consternation in some parts of the opposition where there had been a more muted reaction to her initial decision to go.

The ex-speaker did little to build alliances by telling reporters as she left Georgia that she was engaged in "big politics" while they were grubbing around in a battle over trivialities such as the mayoralty of Georgia. But in meeting with Putin she had crossed the line in the views of many.

Gruzia Online, reports on the Berdzenishvili brothers (unfortunately it does not make clear which one), leaders of the Republican party, saying: "Since she, inside the country, did not have sufficient support [to win elections], she attempts by using the Russian factor to achieve goal ... Actually what has happened is that one of the authors of November 7 [when Georgian police attacked peaceful demonstrations] proposes war game [ie Gigi Ugulava who played at beinga general in the war of August 2008], remaining two - then chairman of parliament [Bujanadze] and premier [Noghaideli] - servitude of Russia. None of of these of ways is right. None of these ways is correct. The way of Georgia is the same, as that taken by Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Rumania and other countries. Now they are part of both NATO and in the European Union. The only thing that will protect us from Russian aggression is the North Atlantic alliance."

Nino Burjanadze visits Moscow

March 3, 2010 by georgiamedia

Nino Burjanadze (pictured), former acting president of Georgia and now leader of the opposition Democratic Movement, is today visiting Moscow, before going on to Brussels.

Justifying her visit she said "Today Georgia is in an international isolation. Russia refuses to talk with the Georgian government directly, while it is done indirectly by the international community, including the strategic partners of our country.

"Today, when Russia and leading European countries are establishing new relations, and when the so-called 'restart' policy is very popular in Russia-US relations, we think it is necessary to resort to unusual international activities. Taking into consideration the fact that solution of the main problems of Georgia is possible only through peaceful means, the political dialogue with Russia is of vital importance for the unity of our country.

"Democratic Movement continues fight for turning Georgia into a united, democratic, really independent and sovereign country based on western values!

"That’s why I am leaving for Moscow tomorrow. Later I will hold meetings in Brussels, other capitals of Europe and the USA."

State-controlled TV station Rustavi 2 sought to portray the visit as some sort of co-ordinated move with Zurab Noghaideli - emphasising that he was "aware of this visit in advance".

Others in the opposition, noted for their hostility to Noghaideli, said they regarded the trip as different from his visits to Msocow - where he signed a alliance with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.

Mikheil Saakashvili has been quick in recent weeks to talk of "traitors" and those who wish to "lick the occupiers boots": however he has avoided actually naming any individual, perhaps because - as the co-ordinated opening of the border crossing point with Russia at Upper Lars makes clear, his administration is also enaged in talking with the Russians.

Reports this week suggested that the talks which led to the border opening took place in Armenia. Despite its proximity Georgian media coverage of events in that coverage is extremely sparse and so it is likely that government officials or even ministers would have been able to travel back and forth with little chance of detection.

Pro-Saakashvili Gamsakhurdia son hits back

February 5, 2010 by georgiamedia

Mikheil Saakashvili coming to power through the Rose Revolution was, from the very start, a story of coalition politics.

Saakashvili was initially just one leader of three. The other two - Nino Burjanadze as a senior parliamentarian who was also young enough to be free of any taint of the Communist years or the growing corruption of Shevardnadze's rule and Zurab Zhvania, who might be thought of as a Shevardnadze supporter who could no longer stand the stench - might all have had their claim on the presidency (indeed Burjanadze twice served in this capacity).

Saakashvili only got to the top because he was the choice of the dominant power in the region - Russia.

The other significant element of that coalition was the followers of Georgia's first president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the so-called Zviadists. Crucial to the success of the revolution which they backed as a way of ridding themselves of the hated Shevardnadze, they were also amongst the first element of Saakashvili's coalition to splinter: objecting to Zhvania being given the newly-created post of Prime Minister.

But the split was an even one. Even from the start a small Zviadist organisation - the Round Table - challenged Saakashvili in the presidential election. The first major break was with the Conservative Party, whose leader Zviad Dzidziguri had once taken up arms against the coup makers who overthrew Gamsakhurdia in 1992.

Now three Zviadist groups exist outside the ruling United National Movement (UNM): the Round Table and Conservatives oustide parliament and the Freedom Party inside. But Zvaidists also remain inside the UNM camp.

And that split is reflected in Gamsakhurdia's family also. The Freedom Party are led by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the former president's eldest son by his first wife, while second wife Manana Archvadze Gamsakhurdia and youngest son Tsotne are aligned with the extra parliamentary opposition.

But Manana's other son George works for the government in a senior position. And now he has made a political intervention after being described as a victim of "blackmail" by the authorities over the ongoing attempts by Mikheil Saakashvili's regime to keep Tsotne in jail for a long time on either an attempted murder or treason charge.

"To our universal dismay, it is pointless and unbalanced actions by my brother (Tsotne Gamsakhurdia), and kalbatono (Madam) Manana that are discrediting the name of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and if someone accepts it all and says nothing, it can only be out of respect to the memory of the late  batono (Mr) Zviad. Believe me, Zviad Gamsakhurdia did not deserve such family members," Gruzia Online reports him saying.