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MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI’S FIRST VISIT AS PRESIDENT WAS TO MOSCOW NOT WASHINGTON
GIGA BOKERIA,
Member of the Georgian Parliament, one of the leaders of the United National Movement, Tbilisi
Giga Bokeria, one of the leaders of the United National Movement and Member of the Georgian Parliament, is not a high-ranking government official, but he is one of the most influential Georgian politicians. This thirty five-year-old legislator is also called the “ideologist” of the Georgia’s ruling party.
- Is Georgia more interested in the relations with the USA than with the EU?
The European integration and, roughly speaking, return to Europe of which we were a part and from which we were excluded against our will, is a dream of the Georgian people. We are realists and understand that Georgia will not join the EU tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or even in a couple of years. This is a long-term prospect, we are moving slowly but in the right direction. Now we are modernizing our country and driving it closer to the European standards.
The USA is our strategic and very important partner that helped us a lot in a hard period of our modern history and does so today. But Georgia is a European country. We believe that the USA and the EU should not be regarded as two alternatives.
- Is Georgia ready to compromise to improve its relations with Russia?
When the “Rose Revolution” had taken place in Georgia and Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President he first of all visited Moscow not Washington. Many people are not aware of that. His first visit was to Moscow and his first message was as follows: we would like to turn over a new leaf and develop the new relations based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom of choice.
All the compromises could be made. In the first year the opposition sharply criticized us for mild relations with Russia and even said that we were the Russian spies. Since the “Rose Revolution” we have been ready to carry on a new dialogue with Russia. We would like to think about the future rather than the past. Let bygones be bygones, and Moscow officials should dismiss the USSR restoration idea from their minds. If the compromise consists in necessity to become the satellite (of Moscow – editor), there is no chance that the compromise will be made. All the other things are transparent.
- If Kosovo becomes independent, will this be an argument for Georgia to agree with Abkhazia’s independence?
No democratic Georgian government will ever agree with Abkhazia’s independence, because in this territory a few people with the assistance of the large neighboring state and the military aggressively hoisted the flag of ethnic nationalism.
- Won’t the territorial problems block Georgia’s joining NATO, which the country seeks to do?
Next year we hope to join the Plan of Action concerning NATO membership. As regards the full NATO integration, of course, the territorial conflicts are an obstacle, but they cannot block Georgia’s integration completely. When Georgia is on the threshold of joining NATO, this will be a problem. But we hope that by then a serious program on settlement of both conflicts will have been drawn up.
- Georgia spends a quarter of its budget on the army. How do you account for such heavy expenses and how much money is allocated, for example, for the education?
Now we spend about 6.5 percent of GDP (23.5 percent of the budget) on the army. How can I account for this? Our armed forces were entirely wrecked. We did not have army at all. This was the national distress. The army was corrupt and only those, who could not afford the money to dodge the army, served there. Of course, we have to reform the armed forces. We need small but very efficient and modern army. For all that, Georgia has the smallest army in the region in terms of its proportion. The army is a natural part of the sovereign state.
We spend a tenth of the budget on the education, and 20 percent on the public health.
- Today the ruling party has the overwhelming majority in the Parliament. Does this threaten the country’s democratic development?
It is true that the weak opposition is Georgia’s problem. Although, watching the Georgian mass media one cannot see that, because they are full of the political debate, which is sometimes particularly fierce. So, the opposition is a very active part of the political process in Georgia. I believe that this situation stems from the “Rose Revolution”.
I agree that strong opposition is an integral part of liberal democracy. For the first time in Georgia’s history we have introduced state financing of the political parties. The Georgian system is the most liberal in Europe, as the financing (of the parties) is not proportional to their election results – in favor of small parties. In spite of the fact that we (“the United National Movement”– editor) took about 70 percent of the votes in the recent national elections and 75 percent in the recent local elections, the budget financing is shared with other parties in the proportion 50:50. We also legally guaranteed all the parties free air time for their debates and political ads.
Our laws are extremely liberal in terms of the freedom of speech. In Georgia public speakers and journalists have not prosecuted for two years.
Tbilisi
By Ivan Gayvanovych
November 23, 2007
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