Georgian Parliament's International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Gabashvili.
Photo: Valery Melnikov
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“It is an operation of special services”
// Georgian president’s associate comments on the events in the country
Former Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili’s arrest and his accusations against President Saakashvili caused an acute political crisis in Georgia. Head of the parliamentary international affairs committee and one of the president’s close associates Konstantin Gabashvili told Kommersant’s correspondent Vladimir Novikov how official Tbilisi views the events in Georgia and Russia’s role in these events.
“How do Georgian authorities take the events linked to Irakly Okruashvili’s arrest?”
“It is not a political crisis. There is a large share of provocation in the current events. I take Okruashvili’s accusations against the president as insinuations, because I know for sure they are untrue. In summer, the prosecutor’s office began investigating cases linked to corruption in the defense ministry. When arrests began, the former defense minister realized that the circle is narrowing. Here is when he delivered the ‘counteraccusations’. Beside the statements prepared by spin doctors and advisors, there were several more accusations which he delivered simply out of despair.
Now to what concerns the rallies. There is a part of political spectrum that simply participates in a certain operation of special services. I do not want to specify now: we will eventually find everything out. Also, there are some politicians who are in the opposition and act accordingly; it is normal. The main point is that the plan linked to Okruashvili was developed abroad. And the major part of that plan has already failed.”
“Many of your colleagues say that they so far cannot understand the cause of Okruashvili’s resignation. Why did he fall out of the president’s circle?”
“It has become clear now that Okruashvili was alien to our team, due to his character. He did not have a very adequate insight into political processes, and he solved issues very lopsidedly: he directly demanded solving conflicts by military force just because he wanted so. It was incompatible with principles and goals of the Georgian government and the president, our team in general. Eventually, he was forced to go away. Or, rather, he went away, and no one asked him to stay.”
“Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze offered dialogue to the opposition that gathered around Okruashvili. What will be the dialogue’s format and subject?”
“It should be a dialogue, and not a clash of two monologues. A dialogue is a talk without any preliminary conditions or obviously unreal ideas like that of a parliamentary republic. At the same time, the dialogue should be conducted so as not to harm the interests of the parliamentary majority, because it is legitimate. At least, until new elections are held. Until then, the opposition should not behave as if it has some sort of advantage. It is necessary to calm down. By the way, we do not have divergences in the foreign policy’s main directions with the opposition. Certainly, if we disregard absolutely marginal pro-Russia forces.”
“Has the Russian factor played any role in the recent events? Why did Okruashvili’s scandalous statements coincide in time with President Saakashvili’s speech in the U.N. General Assembly with accusations against Russia?”
“That action was linked not just to President Saakashvili’s speech in the U.N., but also to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer’s coming to Georgia. There was a certain ritual decision in it: to provoke a crisis in the anniversary of last year’s ‘spy scandal’ [the arrest of Russian officers on espionage charges in October 2006.--Kommersant]. It is an operation of special services. Yet, nothing worked out: no crisis came, and they disgraced themselves once again. Russia should have stopped long ago spending money on provoking crises in Georgia. Russia simply needs to understand that Georgia is a small neighboring country which will definitely become a NATO member. There is simply no other way. And it is good for Russia.
Yet, Moscow wants to press and offend Georgia: just recall the embargo, the support to separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the sculpturing of enemy image in Russia’s mass media. Thus, we’d better have a small country which will be a part of large NATO system. By the way, that kind of Georgia will be friendly to Russia. Isn’t it better than a country which Moscow needs to put on its knees to satisfy its own political and psychological complexes? That is the main problem of Russia’s establishment. If they get rid of these complexes, the two countries will have normal relations. And if they don’t understand us, Georgia will have to fence itself from Russian culture even tougher, which is not quite right, I guess. After all, we are neighbors and should live like good neighbors. Anyway, that sort of Russian establishment will leave someday, and a normal one will come.”
Vladimir Novikov
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 09, 2007
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