Will the fight against corruption in Ukraine be headed by Saakashvili?

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili confirmed on Monday that he is ready to fight for the post of Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau chief. 

 

In an interview with the Censor.net news portal, Saakashvili said corruption is one of the main enemies of Ukraine and he could introduce an action plan based on Georgia’s experience of fighting corruption. At the same time, a criminal case against Saakashvili under several articles of the Criminal Code is being conducted in Georgia. He is accused of embezzling the state budget, of the violent dispersal of a peaceful rally, of the illegal acquisition of Badri Patarkatsishvili's property, of being an accessory to an armed attack on a deputy in 2005, and of the crimes of harboring and falsification in the investigation into the murder of the banker Sandro Girgvliani in 2006.

 

Saakashvili does not live in Georgia and does not intend to cooperate with the police, so he was arrested in absentia, and declared subject to a domestic warrant. Members of the "Opposition Bloc" and the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" do not agree with the invitation of a foreign citizen to head the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. According to opposition leader Alexander Vilkul, by appointing foreigners to high office, Kiev hopes to pass on to them the responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine.

 

As Ukrainian political analyst Alexei Poltorakov told Vestnik Kavkaza, in the first place Ukraine considers Mikhail Saakashvili as their international friend. "He is interesting to Kiev as the father of the Georgian reforms, as the man who brought a new impetus, a new breath to GUAM, as a person who came into sharp military confrontation with Russia. First of all, he is necessary to Kiev as a reformer and a democrat, not as a manager in some important position," the expert said. In addition, he expressed the opinion that it's possible, Saakashvili is doing his own "PR". In this case, the analyst said that the end of his reign in Georgia was marked by ambiguous events with a corruption component. "The anti-corruption reputation of the former president of Georgia is a little bit stained. And the head of the anti-corruption bureau involves access to classified material, but Ukrainian law forbids giving it to foreigners," Poltorakov said. "This is nothing more than a political statement. Let Saakashvili be a political figure, not a bureaucratic one. In that way he is much more useful to Ukraine," he concluded. For his part, the Georgian political scientist Georgy Nodia noted that Saakashvili's activities in Georgia [the fight against corruption - VK] were quite successful. "Georgia, especially in the post-Soviet space, achieved some miracle - corruption was drastically reduced. This is recognized everywhere. So, naturally, Ukrainians can use the Georgian experience. And if they will use it through the appointment of Saakashvili or someone else is another question," the expert concluded.

As Ukrainian political analyst Alexei Poltorakov told Vestnik Kavkaza, in the first place Ukraine considers Mikhail Saakashvili as their international friend. "He is interesting to Kiev as the father of the Georgian reforms, as the man who brought a new impetus, a new breath to GUAM, as a person who came into sharp military confrontation with Russia. First of all, he is necessary to Kiev as a reformer and a democrat, not as a manager in some important position," the expert said.

 

In addition, he expressed the opinion that it's possible, Saakashvili is doing his own "PR". In this case, the analyst said that the end of his reign in Georgia was marked by ambiguous events with a corruption component. "The anti-corruption reputation of the former president of Georgia is a little bit stained. And the head of the anti-corruption bureau involves access to classified material, but Ukrainian law forbids giving it to foreigners," Poltorakov said. 

 

"This is nothing more than a political statement. Let Saakashvili be a political figure, not a bureaucratic one. In that way he is much more useful to Ukraine," he concluded. For his part, the Georgian political scientist Georgy Nodia noted that Saakashvili's activities in Georgia [the fight against corruption - VK] were quite successful. 

 

"Georgia, especially in the post-Soviet space, achieved some miracle - corruption was drastically reduced. This is recognized everywhere. So, naturally, Ukrainians can use the Georgian experience. And if they will use it through the appointment of Saakashvili or someone else is another question," the expert concluded.