Georgia is now on the verge of just another shock

PanARMENIAN.Net - Burjanadze writes: "You know quite well that I wanted to quit the team several times because of disagreements with you and your political team. I knew that it would have been better for my personal political career to distance myself from those decisions which not only did I disagree with but also strongly opposed. I thought that November 7 would have been a bitter lesson for the authorities. Unfortunately, it became obvious that the authorities have failed to learn anything from November 7 and they only started to make superficial, faзade changes…" "Continuation of a revolutionary style of governance was unacceptable for me. Principle disagreements between us about the style of governance and decision-making process made it impossible to remain together in the same political team and as a result I quit. Later, the 2008 August tragedy put us in face of a new, gravest reality. From now on, even one minor wrong step can turn fatal for the country," Burjanadze writes.

Most likely, the ex-speaker is the only Georgian leader in Saakashvili's closest circle who does not deny that Georgia lost the August war. And not only the war does she mention. Burjanadze also enumerates all the failures of Saakashvili's policy, among them unprecedented control over the media and business, aimed at maintaining power; in fact one-party, fictional parliament; judiciary dependent on the instructions of the executive authorities.

"The war has been lost and each Georgian will have to acknowledge, think over and improve its historical burden, but, first and foremost, this is the government's responsibility. When a person, and moreover a governor, cannot admit his failure, it brings new difficulties. The government should be brave enough to admit its mistake. Only in such case it will be possible to plan new policy rationally and unite the society around it. Today, when the country still faces the threat of destabilization and when there is an urgent need to overcome the crisis, I have a strong reason to believe that the authorities are not capable of averting another provocation. This opinion is strengthened by unanswered questions concerning the August events, by the fact that the Georgian government's structure and mentality has remained the same as it was before the August war. I clearly see that the current authorities' main priority is to maintain power. Hence, a real threat exists that attempts to maintain power may cause you to make further irreparable mistakes. I announce that in case of one more adventure Georgia will lose young people, territories, it will finally lose the western trust and support, any perspective of joining Euro-Atlantic structures and will also face a great deal of other problems, which are quite unpredictable. You should make a choice - what is more important for you - the country, the promises given to the people in 2003 or securing your personal power. I will struggle to ensure that after five years of the revolution the country no more faces a problem of stability, justice and elementary freedom. I should be honest before the generation of my children!", Burjanadze stresses.

Let us admit that Nino Burjanadze's letter is like one written by a future Georgian president, who still by word of mouth is trying to help Georgia out of the swamp which it had been driven into by the myopic policy of Mikhail Saakashvili. The latter had truly believed that the Russian forces would be fought against not by the Georgian army but by the US or NATO battalions. He had also believed that an instant blitzkrieg would be enough for Georgia to occupy a standing close to such countries as the United States, France or Germany at the worst. However, happened what was to happen - Georgia was able to make no hero of herself; President Bush and his team could not clearly explain why armed and well-equipped Georgian soldiers simply ran away with the first gunshots from the Russian side. The reckless move of the Georgian President spoiled the image of not only the US but also that of the Ukraine and Israel, which provided Georgia with arms, without thinking twice about the probable catastrophic outcome of the war. On the other hand, the war was just a business and nothing personal for these countries. However, for Georgia and for President Saakashvili the war turned into a tragedy, which the latter, however, is reluctant to admit.

Karine Ter-Sahakyan