Civil Watchdogs Blow the Whistle

Fourteen civil society leaders and representatives from the Georgian expert community openly addressed President Mikheil Saakashvili, blowing the whistle against perceived limitation of the freedom of expression and political opposition. With the one-year anniversary of the 2003 Rose Revolution fast approaching, some of the staunchest ideological critics of Eduard Shevardnadze’s presidency warn Saakashvili that his administration is failing to deliver on its key political promises.

"Unfortunately, alarming developments in Georgian politics made us send this appeal to you, the President of the country and unilateral leader of the ruling party [National Movement]. Intolerance towards people with different opinions is being planted in Georgian politics and in other spheres of social life (business, education, science, culture, sport etc.)," reads the letter, which was published in Georgian leading daily newspapers on October 18.

The open letter warns President Saakashvili, who has several times referred to the critics as the "squealing opposition," that "planting aggressive and insulting manners during debates and discussions, against the background of difficult social-economic problems, as well as ignorance of fundamental human rights, will not lead to the society’s consolidation."

"We are extremely concerned, particularly over the fact that in your [referring to President Saakashvili] recent public speeches there are more and more humiliating and insulting statements towards opponents," the open letter reads.

No official comment has been made by the authorities so far regarding the criticism expressed in the open letter.

The spirit of the letter was voiced a bit earlier by Tinatin Khidasheli, former leader of the influential Georgian Young Lawyers Association who now studies in the United States, in her interview with the 24 Hours daily – "the main, and perhaps the only, expectation [from the new leadership] was [for it] to change the public perception of the state and its institutions. [To build] more trust and the willingness [of the people and the government] to cooperate in building the new Georgia." Khidasheli claims the new government failed to deliver on this expectation.

Legal expert Davit Usupashvili, who was among those who has signed the appeal, says that the authorities’ "aggressive attitude towards different opinions grows together with the increasing number of the government’s problems."

"We have talked with the President over the concerns expressed in the open letter during face-to-face meetings however it has brought no results… The government, which should try to encourage debates, does its best to limit them," Davit Usupashvili told Civil Georgia.

He added that during face-to-face meetings President Saakashvili receives criticism with "understanding, but the problem is to reflect this understanding in practice."

"Protracted Revolutionary Stance"

The daily 24 Hours published on October 18 an article by Ghia Nodia from the think-tank Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, who was among the signatories of the open letter to the President. Nodia argues in the article that the Georgian authorities suffer from a "prolonged revolutionary syndrome." He says that the authorities should switch from the revolutionary way of rule to the "normal way of governance."

"The most dangerous revolutionary position, which currently dominates among the authorities, or among circles close to the government, is that now, when there is an emergency [post-revolutionary] situation, we can put aside the necessity of observing laws… and that, when we move into the bright future, everything will be normalized. This idea has been advocated by many revolutionary leaders, but has always been false," Ghia Nodia says.

He says that "the normal way of governance" is opposite to the above mentioned stance and entails the rule of law, coordinated activities of well-organized governmental structures and long-term strategic planning. "And all these require making difficult compromises, listening to opposite opinions, making unpopular decisions…The resources and possibilities of the authorities are limited and many of those expectations, which were brought in together with the new government, are impossible to deliver."

"The society, in turn, should understand that it is impossible to solve the problems in just one day… Some of his [Mikheil Saakashvili’s] steps will be wrong, but some of his right steps might be not really pleasant. But this does not mean that we should prepare for a new revolution. This means that we should develop tools of cooperation and dialogue with the authorities, as well as those tools of pressure on the government, which we have been learning for past 10-15 years," Ghia Nodia says.