LIVE FROM MUNICH, OKRUASHVILI ENCOURAGES PROTESTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002752 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM GG SUBJECT: LIVE FROM MUNICH, OKRUASHVILI ENCOURAGES PROTESTERS REF: A. TBILISI 2729 ¶B. TBILISI 2719 ¶C. TBILISI 2542 Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Summary: Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili appeared via live telecast on Imedi TV from Munich on November 5. Okruashvili claimed he "was forced to leave Georgia." He apologized for disappointing Georgians with the recantation of the charges he had leveled against the government and President Saakashvili. He said he "was forced to give it," and reaffirmed his accusations. He said Saakshvili is in "a vacuum" among his advisors and his days are numbered. He called it a game of "endurance" with the President, and that "the people have never lost this game," nor will they now. In response, Saakashvili insider Giga Bokeria dismissed Okruashvili's comments, saying the opposition had made its last, desperate play with Okruashvili's reappearance. On November 6, the Prosecutor General disputed Okruashvili's comments, denied he was forced to leave Georgia, and alleged he was taking money from oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili. They said he must still return to Georgia to face charges. End Summary. -------------- Okruashvili Resurfaces in Munich, Wants to Force Saakashvili Out -------------- ¶2. (U) At 11:00 p.m. on November 5, former defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili appeared via live telecast on Imedi TV from Munich on November 5. He was interviewed on the same Open Air program on which he initially leveled charges against President Saakashvili and his government on September ¶25. The telecast was played live in front of Parliament, where approximately 2,500 people continued the fourth straight day (and night) of protests against the government. ¶3. (C) Appearing confident in a business suit, Okruashvili displayed the similar serious, conversational tone he used to level his charges against Saakashvili, and not the haggard appearance of his videotaped confession. In the nearly hour-long interview, Okruashvili apologized that he could not participate personally in the protests. He said he was forced by the government to leave Georgia prior to November 2, and that he is now a "political refugee." Saying he was afraid, and taking a big risk by speaking, he said he "could not keep silent." (Note: Saakashvili advisor Bokeria told the Ambassador earlier that Okruashvili had "asked to leave for medical treatment." End note.) ¶4. (U) Okruashvili's comments included the following points. Okruashvili: - apologized to those Georgians he disappointed with the testimony "which I was forced to give." - said "this is a game of endurance with the government. The people have never lost this game and will win." - addressed Saakashvili, saying that he has been "in a vacuum" for years and listens only to his inner circle. He said "your days are numbered; the people have ruled a verdict against you." He said the only thing on his mind is how to make the President leave power. - said many government officials visited him in jail, including Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, three days after his arrest. He claimed that none of his friends paid his bail. Rather, he said government officials used businessman Tamaz Nizharadze from the port of Poti to post his bail, because his arrest was a problem for the government. - accused the government of stealing public funds, and said they are now sending it abroad. - showed a letter (not close-up) and said it and other evidence he has, including tapes, help document that former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania's death was not accidental. He said he no longer has access to much of the information, which was in his apartment. - claimed he has had no contact with oligarch (and opposition bankroller) Badri Patarkatsishvili since his release from jail on October 9. - said he is in contact with the United National Council of Opposition, which is leading the protests. - encouraged the protesters to "endure, ...so that we can get TBILISI 00002752 002 OF 002 rid of this plague, Saakashvili." ¶5. (U) Okruashvili accused the government of three mistakes in his regard. First, that they did not arrest him until after his statements on September 25. Second, that they released him from jail. Third, that they believed he would not speak out again politically against them. -------------- Ruling Party, PG's Office Respond -------------- ¶6. (C) MP Giga Bokeria, a member of Saakashvili's inner circle, rebuffed Okruashvili's charges in a live interview. Appearing jovial and animated, Bokeria said that Okruashvili's statements were a desperate attempt by the opposition to continue their protests and threaten the government. He said that Patarkatsishvili is controlling the entire opposition, and that Okruashvili's appearance would not help them. A member of the ruling party, and Chairman of the Parliament's Defense and Security Committee, Givi Targamadze added that this Okruashvili "is a different person" than he knew when they were friends, while Okruashvili was in the government. He said no government officials visited Okruashvili in jail, and that Okruashvili could have spoken from Tbilisi, had he wanted. ¶7. (U) Deputy Prosecutor General Nika Gvaramia announced on November 6 that Okruashvili lied about the government paying his bail. Gvaramia said that Nizharadze, who paid part of the bail, is an associate of Okruashvili. The lion's share of the bail was paid by Kibar Khalvashi's construction firm. Gvaramia also said that his office has launched an investigation into Okruashvili's claims of a murder plot against Patarkatsishvili. He also stated that Okruashvili had "asked permission to go abroad for medical treatment. After being denied a British visa, he received a French visa in observance of all relevant procedures." Gvaramia denied that "pressure through human factors" was used to coerce Okruashvili's testimony. Finally, the Deputy PG released a tape of a phone conversation between one Davit Jablishvili and Okruashvili's ally, journalist Nana Lezhava. In the tape, Jablishvili is heard saying he arrived in Munich from London to give Okruashvili "money sent by Badri." Gvaramia reiterated that no charges have been dropped against Okruashvili, and he must return to Tbilisi upon the prosecutor's demand. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Okruashvili's reappearance may give some new life to the demonstrations, but he remains a controversial figure to many Georgians. We suspect that his interview will contribute to a rising feeling of weariness we detect among many of our contacts, that the current crisis should end and the government should get down to work on the real problems of the country. TEFFT