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08.11.07
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Subversive Activities
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By Molly Corso
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Russian Provocation Cited as Reason for Tbilisi Riots
TBILISI/Tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow escalated sharply Thursday when the Georgian government expelled three Russian diplomats, claiming they were engaged in “subversive activities” against Georgia.
In a televised address to the nation Wednesday night, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili urged people to stay calm – and stay off the streets – after six days of demonstrations. The government forcibly broke up protests on Wednesday and temporarily closed private television stations in an attempt to control the civil unrest. Later Wednesday, Saaskashvili declared a state of emergency in Tbilisi.
“There is no time for protests,” the president said in his brief televised statement. “Georgia is under huge pressure…One of the Russian oligarchs [a reference to opposition financer Badri Patarkatsishvili] has openly called for overthrowing the government.”
According to Saakashvili, the Russian government created an “alternative government” for Georgia in Moscow and planned to overthrow his administration by the end of the year.
“If we let these forces destabilize Georgia now, we will lose a chance to have a future; we will lose the chance to restore the country’s territorial integrity. I need your support,” he said, appealing to the population. “I believe in your rationality and in your wisdom.”
The Russian government has vowed to make an “adequate response” to the charges, which it denies. Earlier, high-ranking Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, expressed “concern” over the events in Georgia.
“It is obvious for everyone that actions undertaken by the Georgian leadership are embraced by farce,” Lavrov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying on Nov. 6. “We are concerned about what is happening in Georgia.”
Rhetoric against Russia has run high over the past week as opposition-led demonstrations have called for early parliamentary elections and the president’s resignation. On Wednesday, the government released a collection of video and audio recordings that allegedly proved several opposition leaders were aiding Russian secret services.
The recordings, which incriminate Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili, Republican Party parliamentarian Levan Berdzenishvili, former State Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava, and Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, brother of Freedom Party leader Konstantin Gamsakhurdia, were reportedly made over a two-year period. According to Saakashvili, the government received information from various sources, including “friends” from foreign capitals.
While Georgian television stations aired confessions from at least three Georgian nationals accused of working with the Russians, opposition leaders have denied any connections with Russian secret services.
The decision to expel three Russian diplomats is nothing new for Georgia; last September the government expelled four Russian nationals accused of spying. Moscow reacted swiftly to their arrest and subsequent deportation: the Russian ambassador was recalled, thousands of Georgians were forced to leave Russia and all transportation ties between the two countries were severed.
In addition to the transportation and postal blockade, the Russian government initiated a series of economic embargos against Georgian wine, mineral water, citrus fruits, and other agricultural products. Over the past three months, a series of events in Georgia’s two conflict zones – which both sides have labeled provocations – have further heightened tensions between the two countries.
An armed confrontation in Abkhazia on Oct. 30 underscored the strained relations. Georgian authorities maintain that Georgian patrol police were accosted by Russian peacekeepers in the Georgian-controlled village of Ganmukhuri, reportedly during a scuffle concerning the Georgian Patriotic Youth Camp located in the village. The situation came to a head when Saakashvili arrived at the scene to personally handle the crisis.
During a meeting between government ministers and parliamentarians from the ruling party the following day, the Georgian parliament voted to “delegitimize” the Russian peacekeeping force in the region. Tbilisi has repeatedly asked the UN and the international community to replace the Russian-led force in the conflict zone with other peacekeepers.
“We announced several times that the peacekeepers are not objective and neutral, but very often they are the main destabilizing factor [in the conflict zone]," Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze told journalists after the session.
However, the Russian government maintains that the incident proves its peacekeeping forces are needed on the ground. According to the Russian version of events, a Georgian officer threatened the peacekeepers on patrol, provoking them into confrontation. Russian officials argue that Russian peacekeepers are necessary in the conflict zone to avoid armed confrontation between the Abkhaz and the Georgians still living in the region.
According to political scientist Tina Gogueliani, the perceived Russian influence in the conflict zones is one of the main obstacles to improving relations between the two countries. Speaking last week, Gogueliani noted that it is “unlikely” Moscow will be willing to change the “status quo” in the conflict zones any time soon.
“Russia is also in a very difficult situation right now because next year there will be elections,” she said. “They will not make any changes; they will just preserve the situation.”
Gogueliani, a political analyst with the International Center for Conflict and Negotiations and a research fellow with the Washington D.C.-based World Security Institute, expressed hope that economic relations between the two countries could improve, if the respective governments can find a common language.
However, Vasily Tchkoidze, head of staff of the Georgian parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, believes that currently that is an impossible task for Tbilisi and Moscow.
Pointing to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy last February when the Russian leader struck out against NATO expansion, Tchkoidze maintains that Georgia and Russia have each chosen mutually exclusive foreign policies.
In an interview last week, Tchkoidze stressed that as long as Tbilisi strives to join NATO and other Western institutions, there will be tension between the two countries.
“Putin considers Western society, especially NATO as something hostile to Russia,” he said “[That] means that the relationship between Georgia and Russia has not improved. …there are no grounds for expecting any warming of relations or improving the relationship on this basis.”
He noted that the current level of tension is not unique to just Russian-Georgian relations; Russian relations with the Ukraine and the Baltic States are also poor.
According to Tchkoidze, as long as Russia continues to view the world through its “former Soviet glory,” tensions will remain.
“Today’s Russian leadership and Russian elite is living in the past – past Soviet glory or past Russian empire. Today’s reality is absolutely different – we have a modern society, modern global relationship,” he said. “Living with dreams cannot last forever. Maybe the next president will be more pragmatic, concentrating on the real problems of Russia.” |
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