Ambitious plan for third crusade to ‘rescue Georgia’
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, February 4
On February 1 some non-Parliamentary opposition parties signed an agreement to undertake a joint action plan entitled 'Plan for Georgia’s Victory'. This document was signed by 6 opposition parties and will remain open for further signatures until the end of this month. However it has become clear that the opposition has already split into different segments once again.
Four of the victory plan signatories, Conservative Zviad Dzidziguri, the People's Party's Koba Davitashvili, the Movement for Fair Georgia's Zurab Noghaideli and Gia Maisashvili of the Party of the Future are generally known to the public, whereas the Coalition of Veterans and Patriots and Christian Georgia are barely known at all. In the bloc informally created by these six parties former PM Zurab Noghaideli is becoming the leading force and he has recently become rather openly Russian oriented. Other opposition parties were also invited to sign the memorandum but did not do so.
The six parties have agreed to hold a primary to identify a single opposition candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi. Davitashvili stated that this election presents a unique chance and therefore competitors should become partners. We should not miss this chance as the public are ordering us to unite, he said. Also predictably, the action plan says that under the present circumstances that only way Georgia can win or survive is by changing its illegal leadership, which can only be done by taking uncompromised and united action against it.
The action plan states that on April 9 the signatories will gather to start a third wave of protests. The primary will be held on April 18 instead of the previously announced March 21. A so-called preventative rally against possible election manipulation will be held on May 26, Independence Day, and on May 30, election day, they plan to defeat Saakashvili in Tbilisi at least. If they win the local elections the leaders of the six parties plan to continue fighting for the immediate and final dismantling of Saakashvili’s 'illegal' regime.
There is one factor however which has not been taken into consideration. What if the President and Parliament decide to hold the elections before May 30? This date, the last Sunday of spring, was proposed by the President but Parliament has not yet confirmed it. We know very well that Parliament does nothing contrary to the President’s will, so the question of why the exact date has not been fixed can be answered very simply. The President is waiting for the most appropriate time at which to hold the elections. This is his prerogative, and he can make use of it very skillfully. However Conservative Kakha Kukava thinks that holding elections in April would be a big mistake because the opposition gains a big advantage as soon as political processes move into the streets.
Some of the opposition have already distanced themselves from the new plan. Jondi Baghaturia, head of Georgian Troupe, has called it a schedulled revolt. The Alliance for Georgia's Pikria Chikhradze has stated that it is not going to participate in the revolt as this would mean delaying the elections. The Parliamentary opposition Christian Democrats state that any kind of revolt is in Russia’s interests. Members of the ruling party have labelled the signatories of the plan "traitors". MP Akaki Minashvili has stated that they are serving the interests of the enemy and acting against their own country. He compared their conduct to that of Bolshevik Sergo Orjonikidze, who led the Russian occupation forces into Georgia in 1921. Minashvili added that if the opposition acts against the state's interest it will be held legally accountable.
The closer we get to the local elections the more political confrontation will increase and become merciless. The formulas ‘state interests’ or ‘on the behalf of people’ will be manipulated by all sides to serve their own interests.
Four of the victory plan signatories, Conservative Zviad Dzidziguri, the People's Party's Koba Davitashvili, the Movement for Fair Georgia's Zurab Noghaideli and Gia Maisashvili of the Party of the Future are generally known to the public, whereas the Coalition of Veterans and Patriots and Christian Georgia are barely known at all. In the bloc informally created by these six parties former PM Zurab Noghaideli is becoming the leading force and he has recently become rather openly Russian oriented. Other opposition parties were also invited to sign the memorandum but did not do so.
The six parties have agreed to hold a primary to identify a single opposition candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi. Davitashvili stated that this election presents a unique chance and therefore competitors should become partners. We should not miss this chance as the public are ordering us to unite, he said. Also predictably, the action plan says that under the present circumstances that only way Georgia can win or survive is by changing its illegal leadership, which can only be done by taking uncompromised and united action against it.
The action plan states that on April 9 the signatories will gather to start a third wave of protests. The primary will be held on April 18 instead of the previously announced March 21. A so-called preventative rally against possible election manipulation will be held on May 26, Independence Day, and on May 30, election day, they plan to defeat Saakashvili in Tbilisi at least. If they win the local elections the leaders of the six parties plan to continue fighting for the immediate and final dismantling of Saakashvili’s 'illegal' regime.
There is one factor however which has not been taken into consideration. What if the President and Parliament decide to hold the elections before May 30? This date, the last Sunday of spring, was proposed by the President but Parliament has not yet confirmed it. We know very well that Parliament does nothing contrary to the President’s will, so the question of why the exact date has not been fixed can be answered very simply. The President is waiting for the most appropriate time at which to hold the elections. This is his prerogative, and he can make use of it very skillfully. However Conservative Kakha Kukava thinks that holding elections in April would be a big mistake because the opposition gains a big advantage as soon as political processes move into the streets.
Some of the opposition have already distanced themselves from the new plan. Jondi Baghaturia, head of Georgian Troupe, has called it a schedulled revolt. The Alliance for Georgia's Pikria Chikhradze has stated that it is not going to participate in the revolt as this would mean delaying the elections. The Parliamentary opposition Christian Democrats state that any kind of revolt is in Russia’s interests. Members of the ruling party have labelled the signatories of the plan "traitors". MP Akaki Minashvili has stated that they are serving the interests of the enemy and acting against their own country. He compared their conduct to that of Bolshevik Sergo Orjonikidze, who led the Russian occupation forces into Georgia in 1921. Minashvili added that if the opposition acts against the state's interest it will be held legally accountable.
The closer we get to the local elections the more political confrontation will increase and become merciless. The formulas ‘state interests’ or ‘on the behalf of people’ will be manipulated by all sides to serve their own interests.