Don’t talk about this now, says ruling party

A portion of the opposition is demanding an internal investigation of the recent Tskhinvali crisis and Georgian-Russian war, but the ruling party claims that this is not the time for internal contention and the main aim of all politicians should be ensuring the Russian removal from Georgia and a peaceful resolution of the conflicts.

The head of the Democratic Development Fund, Parliamentary ex-chairperson Nino Burjanadze, demanded an internal investigation of the Russian-Georgian War, whilst being interviewed by the Financial Times Deutschland. The newspaper treats Burjanadze as “the future President of Georgia,” and quotes her as saying that she wants to see investigation because she wants to know “whether it [the war] was only a reaction on the Russian provocations, or something else as well.” “The investigation team should clarify the causes of the military actions and set down the factors which determined the defeat of the Georgian army,” Financial Times Deutschland quotes Burjanadze as saying. She also confirmed that she is establishing a new political party, arguing that, “It should not take years to restore Georgian-Russian relations,” meanwhile stressing that the new party will target the existing problems of Georgia.

Opposition MP Gia Tsagareishvili stated that “Russian military units were already in the Tskhinvali Region before the Georgian Army units marched to the conflict zone,” confirming that this information was obtained from Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria. According to Tsagareishvili there is plenty of evidence confirming that Georgia was not therefore the initiator of the war. “The recent developments in Tskhinvali were a well-planned provocation, which was designed to give Russia an excuse to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

Member of the Parliamentary majority Goka Gabashvili argues that this is not the time for confrontation and any Georgian political force should take heed of its actions so as not to add to the Russian propaganda. Gabashvili hopes that the great portion of the opposition will not join in the demand for the resignation of Saakashvili and expressed his concern that “Georgia should not digress from the chosen political way under the severe pressure of Russia.” “There is no time for internal debates, as the hard task of de-occupation still lies ahead,” Gabashvili stressed.

In response to the calls for Saakashvili’s resignation, Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria claimed that Saakashvili did not signed any agreement apart from the one regarding ceasefire, signed on August 12. “Georgia firmly adheres to the terms of the agreement,” said Bokeria, adding that the recent Sarkozy-Medvedev meeting was a “detailed elaboration of the implementation of the various points of the agreement.” According to Bokeria, “as soon as the Russian military units leave Georgia, the process of internationalizing the peacekeepers in the conflict zones and launching a real peace process, following the principles of peaceful resolution of conflict, will become the primary targets of the Georgian Government.”