RIA Novosti
November 6, 2007
Georgian revolution turns anti-Russian
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Yelena Shesternina)
The new Georgian revolution does not yet have an
official name, but unofficially it is called the
"Revolution of Thorns" (a reference to the
previous "Rose Revolution"), the "Revolution of
Nails" (the authorities allegedly ordered nails
to be thrown on the roads into Tbilisi to stop
"anti-government elements") and the "White
Revolution" (the demonstrators are wearing white wrist bands and
scarves).
The revolution, which began on the fourth
anniversary of the "Rose Revolution," has found a
new enemy - Russia. This is the only thing on
which the opponents, who have been rallying on
Rustaveli Avenue against Mikhail Saakashvili for
more than four days, agree on with their president.
On Tuesday, the opposition leaders unexpectedly
sent part of the protesters to the Russian
embassy. They bore slogans saying, "Moscow, you
can have Saakashvili," which is confusing because
the opposition knows that Moscow has no need for the Georgian leader.
Likewise, it is not clear what changed the
protesters' mood, as before the demonstration the
opposition had done its best to reconcile with
Moscow, promising it "improved relations" if it wins the elections.
Have they been influenced by the speech of Irakli
Okruashvili, a former Georgian Defense Minister
facing several charges in Georgia, who fled to
Munich? He unexpectedly appeared on air on the TV
channel Imedi, which was broadcasted live on a
large screen in the square, and said that he
intended to rejoin the opposition.
He denounced Saakashvili for the umpteenth time,
calling him "a modern-day Hitler," but he did not
as much as mention Russia, although he had
criticized it regularly when he was Defense
Minister. Was it his appearance on the screen
that provoked the inexplicable behavior of Moscow haters in Georgia?
The protesters also want Moscow to take back
Kakha Bendukidze, the State Minister Coordinator
for Economic Reforms. They have accused him of
being a Kremlin agent because he "sold Georgia to
[RAO UES CEO Anatoly] Chubais."
The march to the Russian embassy, which included
no more than 20 people, was merely a side event
for the opposition. But for Saakashvili, Moscow
is an enemy comparable to the opposition. He
blames everything that takes place in Georgia on
Russia, claiming that it supports the opposition and its oligarchs
finance it.
Saakhashvili talked about Russia for nearly a
half of his interview, broadcast by all Georgian
media (including the opposition TV company Imedi,
which did it at the request of the presidential press service).
"A lie factory is working to full capacity in
Georgia. Those who built it had a similar factory
in Russia during the weak regime of Boris
Yeltsin," Saakashvili said. "And now these
people, the Russian oligarchs, are building this
factory in Georgia. They want to spread the Russian disease to our
country."
It is clear that the Georgian president meant
Badri Patarkatsishvili. He forgot, though, that
Russia has put Patarkatsishvili, a close friend
of Boris Berezovsky and the man who financed the
opposition demonstration, on the international wanted list.
"You know why Russian TV channels broadcast the
Georgian demonstrations live?" the president
asked. "They know that Georgians have mustered
the courage to stand up against Russia's aggressive policy."
What about Western companies then, which begin
their news shows with broadcasts from Georgia?
"To suppress us, they [Russia] introduced the
embargo and closed the border," Saakashvili went
on to say, but did not bother to explain that the
embargo was introduced over the detaining of
Russian officers on trumped-up charges of
espionage. "They want to show the CIS countries
what can happen to those who do not want to toe the Russian line."
He also said, "There is an oligarchic force in
Russia which coordinates its actions with [the
authorities of] a given country and political
forces... so as to destabilize the situation in
Georgia ahead of the elections in Russia."
Saakashvili did not explain how events in Georgia
could influence the outcome of the parliamentary
elections in Russia, which is apparent to everyone.
When two people, or forces, cannot agree on
something, they try to shift the blame to a third
party. This is the logic of the current
confrontation in Georgia, the fail-safe logic of the "external enemy."
The Russian authorities have so far reacted only
to the speeches made by one of the two warring sides in Georgia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, "We
are concerned over the developments in Georgia. I
would not like to comment on the speeches by that
politician [Saakashvili]; the farce of his actions is obvious to
everyone."
Let's hope that the actions of the Georgian
opposition will not deteriorate into a farce.
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