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EURASIA INSIGHT

OPPOSITION THREATENS MASS HUNGER STRIKE
Nina Akhmeteli 2/19/08

Georgian opposition leaders have given President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration until February 22 to meet its protest demands. If their conditions are not met by the deadline, opposition leaders vow that they will launch a mass hunger strike all across Georgia.

Thousands of Georgians attended an opposition rally in Tbilisi on February 15, marking the start of the latest protest initiative. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On February 18, officials made a significant goodwill gesture by meeting one of the opposition’s chief demands to release six people who were arrested for their roles in stoking an opposition protest that ended in a violent confrontation with authorities on November 7. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze described the release as a "serious step" that was designed to emphasize the administration’s desire to engage its critics in a substantive political dialogue. Despite the OSCE’s conclusion that the January 5 special presidential election was largely free and fair, opposition leaders refuse to recognize the result. Thus, they tend to engage Burjanadze, rather than administration representatives.

Opposition leaders continue to place little faith in the Saakashvili administration’s sincerity. "We tried to have a dialogue and decreased the high temperature in the streets, but received zero outcome of it," MP Kakha Kukava, a prominent figure in the opposition National Council, said in an interview with EurasiaNet. "I am sure that nothing can be in the way of permanent actions, and [only then] will authorities finally have to compromise,"
If the February 22 deadline passes without all their complaints being redressed, then opposition leaders say their protests will turn "permanent and radical." In addition to the prisoner release, another area of particular tension concerns the fates of Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Levan Tarkhnishvili and the head of the Georgian public television Tamar Kintsurashvili. The opposition is demanding the immediate resignation of both officials.
Administration officials have prepared a memorandum in which they express a desire to reach a "consensus" solution to the opposition demands, including the establishment of an investigatory panel that would examine the circumstances surrounding the November 7 turmoil and amendments to electoral legislation. In addition, the government has indicated that the CEC could undergo a personnel reshuffle by mid-March, in the event that "consensus can be reached among political parties, and agreement on particular candidates" can be achieved. Opposition leaders accuse the government of simply trying to stall in order to undermine their demands.
Meanwhile, Kintsurashvili, the public television boss, has stated that she will submit her resignation after a new board of trustees for the station is in place. The new board would exercise tremendous influence over the naming of her successor. But the opposition isn’t buying Kintsurashvili’s argument.

"We put very out concrete demands and expected a concrete response to it from authorities, but [the memorandum we] received was a very abstract, unclear piece of paper," said Manana Nachkebia, an MP and a member of the New Rights Party.

Burjanadze said during a February 19 parliament session that the government is trying to move forward rapidly on assembling a new public television board. "But further consultations are needed," Burjanadze said. "I hope that our opposition colleagues will take constructive steps � instead of [issuing] ultimatums."

Some political observers say the disputes connected to Tarkhnishvili and Kintsurashvili constitute perhaps the single largest obstacle to the resolution of the government-opposition confrontation. Giorgi Margvelashvili, the Head of Research Department at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, suggested that Saakashvili’s administration would be making a political mistake if it dug in its heels on the personnel issue.

"The resignations of Kintsurashvili and Tarkhnishvili � just require political will, and it would be worth it for authorities to demonstrate that will in order to improve the negotiating atmosphere," Margvelashvili told EurasiaNet. "But it seems to be a very [difficult] for authorities to take timely action regarding personalities."

Administration loyalists say the opposition is merely politicking in advance of parliamentary elections scheduled to be held this spring. "I think our opponents � have already begun their election campaign," pro-administration MP Pavle Kublashvili told Georgian Public Television. "They suppose that their election campaign should be aggressive."

Margvelashvili does not believe that the existing tension will get out of hand, as it did in November. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. If either side embraces "radicalism [then] it will lose," Margvelashvili said. "The street rallies in this case is a part of the opposition tactics, and are an effective tool to press on the authorities. "

The longer administration officials wait to make a political trade, the more difficult they will make it for themselves, Margvelashvili added. "Sooner or later they [authorities] will meet the opposition’s demands, but if they prolong the time that it takes, no one will appreciate their compromises," Margvelashvili said.

Editor�s Note: Nina Akhmeteli is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi.

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