Victoria Panfilova, observer NG, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
A few days are left ahead of the presidential elections in Georgia. Premier Bidzina Ivanishvili presented the future of the state and certain politicians to foreign and Georgian journalists. According to him, Georgia will become one of the most attractive countries in the region in the near future. Liberal laws in the business sphere will attract investments, the most rational and profitable projects will be implemented, and the real development of tourist and resort segments will begin, as well as agriculture. It will help to solve the problem of unemployment, and living standards will grow.
He paid special attention to political issues. The candidate from the ruling coalition Georgian Dream, Georgy Margvelashvili, will win the presidential elections in the first round, he predicted. The candidate from the former ruling party, David Bakradze, will take the second place. According to the premier, the third place will be taken by Nino Burdzhanadze. Ivanishvili plans to resign no later than November 24th, in a week after inauguration of a new president. He will announce his successor later, after the presidential elections; and it will be “a very worthy person.” Ivanishvili has a similar “very worthy candidate” to the position of Tbilisi’s mayor – the mayor elections will take place in a year.
Ivanishvili’s last statement on the mayoral candidate actually devaluated his words on his withdrawal from politics and shifting to active social work on control of the governmental activity. Even such indirect participation in politics as presenting a candidate to a political position means participation in the political life of the country, as well as the work on the control of the government.
Ivanishvili sees clearly the fate of Mikhail Saakashvili. The premier makes certain statements that Saakashvili will have to communicate with the prosecution, as well as the current mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava. Almost every day new details on the president’s activity appear, which demand explanation.
“There are questions to him,” the premier said. “The former prime minister Vano Merabishvili, the former defense minister Bacho Akhalaya are in prison, the other former defense minister David Kezerashvili was captured in France. The general prosecutor Zurab Adeishvili is wanted. There are three criminal cases initiated against Tbilisi’s mayor Gigi Ugulava. So, it is natural that we have questions to the president.” It is notable that the general prosecutor Archil Kobilashvili spoke on the same topic parallel to Ivanishvili. He stated that there was information that Saakashvili gave state property to persons and organizations at a token price for 27 thousand times less than the true value. “The president has the right to this; but certain facts are being investigated, as well as all the cases,” the prosecutor said.
However, it is not the most unpleasant thing for Saakashvili. “Saakashvili can be accused of involvement in the death of Premier Zurab Zhvania and many other cases. For example, on May 26th, 2011, people were killed during the suppression of a demonstration. Do you think the president didn’t know about it? Of course he did. As a citizen I don’t want my president to be interrogated or imprisoned – it is bad for the country’s image. However, it should be decided by the prosecution and court; it is not my business” Ivanishvili stated.
These days the Georgian mass media published new details on the death of Zhvania. The bodies of Zurab Zhavania and the deputy governor of the Kvemo Kartli Region, Raul Yusupov, were found in an apartment in the wealthy Tbilisi districts of Saburtalo. The society didn’t believe in the story that they were asphyxiated by gas. Later new details of Zhvania and Yusupov’s deaths discredited the official version. Yashar Yusupov, father of the late vice governor, stated that his son was killed in a different place and was taken to the Saburtalo apartment; one of Raul’s shoes wasn’t found. The same things were told about the premier. When the investigation was renewed under the new authorities, a resident of the house was found, who said that she saw how the bodies were taken in to the apartment.
From bad to worse. There is no sense in citing all statements by Georgian politicians, experts, social activists. Let’s refer only to the expert on the Caucasus, MP, Mamuka Areshidze. He stated that Zhvania died in the presidential residence area in Shavnabada, probably in presence of Saakashvili who is guilty at least in hiding the truth. The same thoughts are expressed by brother of the late premier, Goga Zhvania. Yashar Yusupov insists on exhumation and holding the other expertise, despite Muslim traditions. The truth is more important.
Representatives of the former ruling party don’t like the developments over Zhvania-Yusupov case. Saakashvili stated that he wasn’t a zebra from Ivanishvili’s personal zoo to catch him and put behind bars. His supporters revived rumors on non-traditional sexual orientation of the late officials, which makes a part of the case non-transparent. Georgian experts who were interviewed by the author didn’t want to comment of the case before the results of the official investigation, even though they didn’t believe in the story of being asphyxiated by gas and were sure that it was a murder.
The investigation of strange circumstances of the special operation in Lapankuri is coming to an end. A year ago ahead of the parliamentary elections an armed group appeared near the Dagestan part of the Russian-Georgian border; it was destroyed by Georgian Special Forces. Later it was found out that the destroyed group was connected with officials from the internal ministry of Georgia. Now the Lapankuri operation will be investigated by a public committee which involves military experts and local residents.
One more problem for the former authorities is detecting of the terrorist attack in the village of Khurcha in the Zugdid Region near Abkhazia in 2008. Georgians from the Galsky Region of the non-controlled autonomy were taken to Khurcha for voting. The investigation found out that the terrorist attack in which Galsky buses exploded was committed by employees of the Internal Ministry of Georgia. The former officers of the Internal Ministry can get 20 years of imprisonment; their motives will be investigated. At the same time, the involvement of the top officials of the UNM is obvious.
