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THE GEORGIAN TIMES: NATIONAL VOTE: SHOULD GEORGIA BECOME A MEMBER OF NATO?
Georgian voters will have to answer a question if Georgia should become a member of NATO at the January 5th plebiscite, which will be held alongside the presidential poll.
Putting the NATO issue as a plebiscite question was surprising for Georgians, because for the last few years, NATO integration has been a foreign policy priority for Georgia. Government officials argue that positive results to the question will serve as more evidence for NATO member countries’ decision-making about future relations with Georgia. Opposition leaders believe there is no reason to put such a topic on plebiscite.
Political analyst Giorgi Khutsishvili, says, “The position of Georgian society and political parties have been checked many times. Everybody knows that Georgian citizens support Georgia’s NATO aspiration. I think that it was not necessary to put the question on plebiscite. Furthermore, it raises some doubts that it was done for other reasons. It means, if you support NATO, you must support President Saakashvili, who promises moving toward European Institutions.”
A public opinion poll on Georgia’s integration into NATO was conducted at the end of 2006, by the Lithuanian public survey and marketing company Baltic Survey and Gallup Organization with assistance from the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Georgia and the Office of State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. In total, 1400 Georgian citizens were polled. 83% of the surveyed voted for NATO membership; 12 % were against.
Khutsishvili supposes that even before the November events, the chances for Georgia to get MAP (Membership Action Plan) at the March 2008 Bucharest summit are slim. “I had a chance to talk with key persons at the NATO Head Quarter and here. They all were doubtful. I think after the November crisis the chances became even slimmer. Of course, you cannot fully exclude that possibility, there is still time until March, and something may happen at a geopolitical scale that would speed up a decision. But at the moment all the odd are against a positive decision for Georgia,” Khutsishvili said.
Unlike him, the Chairman of the Legal Issues Committee of the Georgian Parliament, Levan Bejashvili, believes that the government has made the right decision when including the NATO question in the January 5 agenda. He states that the positive results of a plebiscite will serve as additional argument for the international community to make a proper decision about Georgia. He emphasizes that holding such a plebiscite is the Georgian government’s initiative and a positive outcome will strengthen its attempts to receive MAP at the Bucharest Summit.
The chairman of the parliamentary fraction Democratic Front, Davit Zurabishvili offers a different scenario, “If opposition parties were to boycott elections (even though nobody intends to do it), than Saakashvili and his government will point out that it is because opposition parties don’t support Euro-Atlantic integration.” Zurabishvili believes that at the Bucharest Summit only fair presidential elections will be discussed and not plebiscite results. “They [plebiscite results] won’t have any impact,” he told The Georgian Times.
In an interview with the head of Georgia for NATO, a non-governmental organization,Shalwa Pichkhadzeexpressed to The Georgian Times that asking such a question is not necessary, but may still have an impact at the Bucharest Summit.
GT: Why has the question about NATO integration been included in the January 5 election agenda? What has been the government’s intention in your opinion and what impact should we expect?
S.P: There could be two reasons for holding such a plebiscite and both are acceptable for me. First is the widespread opinion that unintentionally people will associate the two issues: NATO integration and President Saakashvili. And the second, that November events and generally what has been happening in Georgia for the last years have done much damage for Georgia’s image abroad, therefore government needs some further, strong argument for the Alliance.
G.T: What kind of impact could the plebiscite results have on Bucharest summit?
S.P: The will of the people is a strong argument. NATO Member Countries may consider the plebiscite results, which in any case will be positive, by decision-making. But, I think that stronger impact may be how the presidential elections will be conducted, who will be elected by the population, and how people will behave after elections; and only after that will NATO consider people’s motivation.
Tia Vashakidze
The Georgian Times, December 12, 2007
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