
Last year, Georgia canceled its traditional (at least in the Saakashvili era) Independence Day military parade, because opposition protests were going on, and a significant army mutiny had just happened. But the parade is back on this year, reports Civil.ge:
A military parade will be held outside the Parliament on Rustaveli Avenue on May 26 to mark Georgia's Independence Day, the authorities announced on May 19.
Tradition of marking the Independence Day with military parade was restored in 2004 after about eight-year pause. Since then parades were held on each Independence Day on May 26, but last year was an exception.
Civil notes that the tank battalion commander who mutinied cited, in his trial, the planned parade, and its apparent triumphalism even after a lost war, as part of his motivation:
“Many witnesses questioned by the court [those who served in Mukhrovani at that time] were asked how I was explaining my decision to declare disobedience and they were saying that I was protesting against the military parade [which at the time was planned for May 26 to mark the Independence Day],” Gorgiashvili said in his closing statement.
“That really was among the reasons, but I have told other [reasons] to Shmagi Telia and although he said he could not understand, in fact he did understand everything very well and he even agreed with me,” Gorgiashvili said.
Messenger reports that Georgia's political opposition sees a political motive behind the parade:
[T]his decision has aroused much discontent in the opposition for several reasons. They say that after losing the 2008 war with Russia it is inappropriate to hold a military parade and holding a parade just 4 days before the elections is a demonstration of power by the administration....
Military analyst Giorgi Tavdgiridze thinks that a parade is a Soviet-style celebration and suggests as an alternative sending different military units and their equipment to different parts of the city so that the people can see and even touch military hardware and the officers and soldiers can talk to the people directly, explaining the history of their particular regiment, answering questions and so on. This would be much cheaper than a parade, Tavdgiridze says, and need not necessarily involve all the military.
Only in Georgia could a parade be the subject of this much controversy.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.