A successful struggle against corruption is considered to be the main achievement of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. However experience proves that there is no fast solution to problems in this sphere. VK asked famous Georgian politicians if this struggle is successful and what price society pays for it.
Levan Berdzenishvili, Soviet-era dissident, one of the leaders of the opposition Republican party: First of all, when we speak of ends, I must admit, the ends have not been achieved. Bribery at a low level has been really exterminated, but "big" corruption is prospering. The officials are corrupt. President Saakashvili promised that if we find a person in his milieu who has become a millionaire he would resign. According to our data, all his ministers are millionaires at the moment. So here we have achieved nothing. But even if we have achieved anything what is the price we have paid? Negative social energy, arrests, executions and so on. Human rights are sacrificed to the "great idea". In truth, "the struggle against corruption" is a code name for the operation aimed at strengthen the authorities. Corruption was excluded from everyday life and moved to the other spheres. If anyone wants to start business in Georgia, at once he or she becomes a part of the new cunning corruption. All this means big money. Why has the Interior Minister of Georgia Merabishvili become a millionaire? Why is Saakashvili himself a millionaire? They did not have any money before they got power. Do you remember how Saakashvili at the government meeting was waving at the photos of the mansions of corrupt officials? But they are just shacks compared to the current palaces. Look at the new presidential palace which was built by Saakashvili, it contains five American "white houses". Is this not corruption? So we did not have any struggle against corruption, it was just a show for international observers. Everyone who runs a business in Georgia, even making 2 dollars profit, is involved in corruption.
Businessmen pay money to the United National Movement all the time. The regional elections have just taken place. Quite soon we will know how much the businessmen paid to the ruling party as donations. You will receive evidence that the business groups which had orders from the state and won tenders are the main sponsors of the party. I am speaking about the usual corruption and usual "kickbacks". If we ask concrete people they will deny everything. It is said quite often that the level of confidence in the police is high in Georgia. Not long ago it was really high, because people liked the patrol which replaced the GAI (traffic police). But after November 7, 2007 when the police broke up the opposition demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue, everything fell into place. The people realized that the police support the power, not the people. So the police can do whatever they want and will not be punished for that. This is corruption.
David Darchiashvili, parliamentary deputy from the ruling party United National Movement: The corruption index and ratings by such respected foreign organizations as Transparency International and so on indicate that the struggle against corruption is not facade, but real. Georgia has walked up many stairs in the ratings of the struggle against corruption. As for the opposition's statements about "elite corruption" and talk that "financing political parties by business is corruption", they are just not serious. I would like our colleagues to explain what they mean, because many officials, including parliamentary deputies from the ruling party were arrested after they had taken a bribe.
Actually corruption exists as long as mankind and civilization does. We need to struggle against this social evil constantly. And attacks on the police by the opposition make us think that if, God forbid, the opposition gets power, corruption would prosper again in our country and we would return to the level of 2003, when the police were a part of the criminal gangs, especially as regards corruption.
Interviewed by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK.
