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| Zhvania and Abashidze say talks will continue |
At the joint news briefing with Zurab Zhvania, Aslan Abashidze said that the central authorities should “return processes in Georgia in frames of the constitution.”
Aslan Abashidze denounced the country’s new leadership, which took over the power after the velvet revolution, as “illegitimate” and threatened to boycott January 4 snap presidential elections, if the new leadership refuses to postpone elections until June.
“I came here in order to achieve new level of cooperation between the central authorities and the Adjarian leadership. And we are moving forward in this direction. We really should offer [to the Adjarian authorities] arguments based on constitution,” Zurab Zhvania said.
Both, Zurab Zhvania and Aslan Abashidze, categorically ruled out possibility of Adjara’s secession from Georgia. “The myth about Adjara’s separatist tendencies faded away,” Zhvania said.
“Adjara’s secession is just stupidity,” Abashidze said.
No other details of negotiations between Aslan Abashidze and Zurab Zhvania are known.
However, hopes that the deal will be reached increased as Aslan Abashidze and Zurab Zhvania visited one of the polling stations in Batumi, where Abashidze demonstrated well-equipped precinct to the State Minister. Zurab Zhvania and Aslan Abashidze also visited tunnel, which is under construction and which will connect Adjarian towns of Kobuleti and Batumi.
The talks between Aslan Abashidze and Nino Burjanadze, the Interim President of Georgia on December 10 in Batumi ended with almost the similar results. The both sides welcomed talks and pledged to continue dialogue; however, no particular decision has been reached.
Talks between the Adjarian leader and the State Minister were held against the background of growing public protest in the Autonomous Republic. The sings of protest against Abashidze becomes vivid, as group of students and representatives of the Adjara intellectual groups launched collection of signatures of citizens of the Autonomous Republic demanding Adjara’s participation in the presidential elections.
“The students have already been collecting the signatures for several days. It is evident, that most of the residents of Adjara want to participate in the elections. I have to say that there was no case of intimidation against the students collecting signatures,” Mzia Amaghlobeli, journalist from Batumi told Civil Georgia.
Dozens of Batumi residents gathered today outside the Central Election Commission of Adjara Autonomous Republic in order to undergo voter registration procedures. The process is held throughout Georgia and aims at making voter lists. The voter registration is not held only in Adjara, and in breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The group of students also established a committee, which aims at promotion of civil society values in the region. The similar committee was created in Tbilisi as well after the fraudulent November 2 parliamentary elections, aiming at mobilization of students to protest against the Shevardnadze’s government.
These sings of public protest is believed to be the major blow for Abashidze’s decade-long unilateral rule in the Autonomous Republic.
The Council of Europe (CoE) has also called Adjarian leader to avoid from boycotting. Aslan Abashidze met with Secretary General of CoE Walter Schwimmer in Strasbourg on December 18. After the talks Walter Schwimmer told Georgian televisions Mze (the Sun) and Rustavi 2, “Adjara is the part of Georgia and its residents should have a chance to cast ballot on January 4 presidential elections.”
“I told Mr. Schwimmer that Adjara will take part in the elections in case, processes in Tbilisi will return to the constitutional frames,” Abashidze told reporters on December 19 upon his arrival from Strasbourg.
Mikheil Saakashvili, a frontrunner presidential candidate, called Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze for holding elections in Adjara Autonomous Republic.
“He [Aslan Abashidze] must act in accordance to the Constitution of Georgia. I intend to be the President of entire Georgia, including the Adjarian region. I do not intend to repress him, but if he violates the Constitution, he will be punished severely,” Saakashvili said at a news briefing on December 18.
The United States has also started to take active efforts to defuse tensions between Batumi and Tbilisi. U.S. ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles has visited Batumi twice after the velvet revolution.
“The situation, which existed between the central authorities of Georgia and the Adjara Autonomous Republic for past years, was not normal. Now, there are some prospects and possibility for normalization of the situation,” Richard Miles told reporters upon his arrival from Batumi on December 17.
However, despite growing protest in Adjara and mounting international pressure, Aslan Abashidze maintains radical position over the elections. Observers believe that the issue of boycotting elections is a matter of horse-trading with the new leadership, as Aslan Abashidze tries to retain power in Adjara.