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Questions and blame begin to emerge

By Shorena Labadze
Tuesday, August 19
Opposition leaders who have been silent so far have been slowly airing their positions on the current dramatic situation in Georgia. They maintain this was either caused by the irresponsibility and carelessness of the Georgian authorities, or by Russia’s brutal politics alone.

According to opposition Christian Democrat MP Levan Vepkhvadze the conflict had been coming ever since Vladimir Putin became Russia’s President. “Even Shevardnadze, who made it a priority to have a good foreign policy, had difficulties in his relationships with Russia. It’s now obvious to the entire world that this was a war between Russia and Georgia, and wasn’t related to the conflict zones,” Vepkhvadze told The Messenger.

Levan Vepkhvadze considers that one of the main reasons for Russia’s aggression was Georgia’s steps forward in the NATO integration process. He also said that Russia has slapped the USA and the whole of Europe in the face with its military activity. “The devastation of Georgia’s infrastructure was Russia’s warning to the USA and Europe not to mess with it, hence the bombing of oil pipelines and different energy resources.”

Levan Vepkhvadze also said that Russia has a specific plan to annex Georgia . This consists of three phases: intervention, changing the government and declaring the conflict zones independent. As for the Georgian side’s responsibility for the conflict, Vepkhvadze says the Christian Democrats will “surely raise this issue in Parliament after everything has calmed down.” “We faced a surprise attack. We weren’t informed about it and therefore we found ourselves unable to react. There are very many questions and we’ll by all means raise the issue, but there is no time for this now,” Vepkhvadze pledged. As for his evaluation of the Rustaveli rally on August 12, when Georgian people expressed their unity to the world, Vepkhvadze said it did have international relevance, although it was perceived negatively by part of the Georgian people.

On August 18 New Rights Party chairman Davit Gamkrelidze, together with Republican Party leader Davit Usupashvili released a document addressing the heads of states and governments of NATO countries. Describing the current situation in Georgia, the leaders “strongly criticize the Georgian authorities for serious deficiency in democracy,” though mentioning that the “aim of this address is not criticizing the authorities.” The leaders assure the addressees that Georgia deserves “freedom and prospects of democratic development”. “We address you with a request to take decision about accelerated integration of Georgia with Euro-Atlantic Alliance, due to current situation and based on chapters of the final documents of Bucharest NATO summit” as “today integration in Euro-Atlantic structures is the matter of existence for Sovereign Georgia,” the letter says.

As Republican Party member Ivliane Khaindrava told Georgian newspaper Rezonansi on August 18,”it’s a disaster that the childish ‘Commander-in Chief complex’ of the President has sacrificed the lives and well-being of thousands of people…It seems that he [Saakashvili] wasn’t fully satisfied by playing with toy guns and tanks in his childhood.” Khaindrava strongly criticized the Rustaveli rally as well. “By holding that rally Saakashvili tried to show the entire world that the Georgian people are as inadequate as the President himself... Aggression from the outside creates natural reaction of consolidation around a nation’s government, even though it is unfit. It’s a paradox, but Russia’s action will make Saakashvili’s Presidency last longer,” Khaindrava says.

Georgian political commentator Gia Khukhashvili reckons that in spite of challenges from the Russian side the bloody confrontation could have been avoided if Georgian ministers had been more careful. “We should have been more humble and not get involved in a war. Russia managed to package the situation as it wanted to and tell the world that Georgia started the conflict. Russia cheated Georgia and lead it into a trap. And now the trap has been sprung,” Khukhashvili told our newspaper.

Khukhashvili considers that Georgia has returned to the 90s politically. “Our partners don’t say anything about the integration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They are only concerned with the other regions and the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers,” Khukhashvili said. He then added that “it’s shameful that when only a few kilometers from Tbilisi people are being raped and killed the President holds a rally like a concert.”