On 7 November, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili squashed an anti-government protest and declared a state of emergency. The result? According to Transparency International’s chapter in Georgia (TI Georgia), over 500 people hospitalised and the closure of the country’s independent media.

How did this happen? Four years ago the very same President rode to power courtesy of the 2003 “Rose Revolution”, where tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets to peacefully demonstrate against the government of President Eduard Shevardnadze (see an earlier Transparency Watch article on this subject). Since then Mr Saakashvili has steered Georgia through numerous economic and regulatory reforms and has adopted a resolutely pro-Western stance. In 2006 the World Bank named Georgia as the leading global reformer in 2005-2006.

However, the reforms in question have mainly benefited the urban middle classes, meaning many people, especially in rural regions, have yet to see improvements to their standard of life. The opposition has accused Mr Saakashvili’s administration of prosecutorial abuses and intolerance towards any opposition. While only last week the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee expressed concern at reports of excessive force being used by Georgian prison officials, allegedly resulting in several deaths. The forceful methods used last week in dispersing the protestors – the BBC reported tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons being employed against thousands of protesters – raises concerns over human rights.

From 2 November, protestors assembled in front of the Parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, to campaign for early parliamentary elections, changes to the current electoral system, greater political pluralism, and the release of political prisoners. The opposition leaders who organised the protest, the largest since the “Rose Revolution”, emphasised the peaceful nature of the demonstration and their support for the constitution. According to TI Georgia’s report, the government’s lacklustre efforts to enter into a serious dialogue frustrated the protestors to the point that they called for Mr Saakashvili’s resignation.

The government took these demands as rumblings of a coup and responded on 7 November violently with riot police, blaming aggression from some protestors for the heavy-handed measures. A 15-day state of emergency was declared and radio and television stations were banned from broadcasting news reports. Two independent television stations were also completely taken off the air, with conflicting reports regarding the damage inflicted by the riot police to one of them. The government aired recorded conversations, allegedly between leaders of the opposition and the Russian intelligence service, as justification.

Two opposition leaders were accused of espionage, although the charge against one of them has since been dropped, and three Russian diplomats expelled. For its part, Russia rejects the allegations from the Georgian government that its intelligence service played any part in supporting a coup effort and reciprocated by declaring three Georgian embassy officials in Moscow personae non gratae.

The media, civil society organisations and foreign governments have widely renounced the excessive force used by the Georgian government, the imposed state of emergency and the media restrictions, as being out of proportion to the situation and undermining democracy.

Now Mr Saakashvili faces growing international criticism over the reported events. In a statement issued on 8 November the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, stresses that she is “particularly worried over reports of disproportionate use of force, including against Georgia's Public Defender, the detention of opposition leaders and the beating of demonstrators”. TI Georgia describes how “police officers and riot police not only violently dispersed the protesters, who were unarmed and varied in age and gender, but continued to pursue them down side streets and into shops and other buildings”. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has called for the Georgian authorities to hold a full and independent inquiry to determine whether excessive force had been used against the protestors.

The events are also likely to be a setback for Mr Saakashvili’s ambitions for Georgia to join NATO, which has condemned the imposition of emergency rule and the closure of media outlets as incompatible with Euro-Atlantic values.

In an effort to defuse the situation Mr Saakashvili announced on 8 November that presidential elections would take place earlier than planned, on 5 January 2008, as would a plebiscite on the timing of the parliamentary elections.

Rather than simply deciding who will be president, the elections look poised to determine the powers invested in the position, with Georgia’s opposition parties united in their desire for the powers of the president to be reduced and for Georgia to be transformed into a full parliamentary democracy. On 12 November a coalition of opposition parties named Levan Gachechiladze as their joint candidate.

The ruling party also appears to be gearing up for the elections with two cabinet changes and Mr Saakashvili’s nomination on 16 November for Lado Gurgenidze, chairman of the bank of Georgia, to replace Zurab Noghaideli as prime minister.

The state of emergency was lifted on 16 November. However, Georgia’s most popular television station, Imedi, has still to resume broadcasting. Imedi’s television license has been suspended for three months on the grounds that it violated Georgia’s law on broadcasting, which means the station, which was often critical of the government, is unlikely to cover the elections.

So long as the independent media is hindered from broadcasting, the effective dissemination of information, necessary to help voters make an informed decision, is impossible. The opposition coalition is planning a demonstration in support of Imedi and a free media on 25 November.

While Transparency International welcomes the Georgian government’s decision to end the state of emergency, it is important at this time of heightened tensions that Georgia adheres to its obligations in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights .

Much is at stake and it is important for Georgia’s future that the ideals of the “Rose Revolution” are not forgotten. The international community and Transparency International expect Mr Saakashvili and all parties involved to remain loyal to these values.

TI Georgia has issued a statement with ten pre-conditions for free and fair elections in Georgia. To read this document, please click here.

**********************************************************************
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) is a national chapter of Transparency International, the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. TI Georgia was established on 7 May 2000 as a local non-governmental organisation committed to combating corruption in Georgia through the promotion of transparency and accountability. TI Georgia’s mission is to serve as the primary source of information on corruption reform in Georgia, assist the Georgian Government and the broader public in facilitating reform in sectors where corruption exists, and build and strengthen institutions. To fulfil this mission, TI Georgia: establishes programmatic activities that target structural corruption in specific sectors; promotes access of local populations to information on existing problems and changes initiated to address these problems; encourages input on reform from local and international experts; assists the Government in drafting policy; and produces analysis and public policy recommendations on current activities and on future reform.