GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BEZHUASHVILI ON

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STATE FOR EUR/CARC AND EUR/FO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV MARR CFE GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BEZHUASHVILI ON
POLITICAL SITUATION, CFE


Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft, reason 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In a meeting on November 8, Georgian
Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said that the government
has decided not to go for parliamentary approval of the full
15 day state of emergency if there are no incidents during
the next two days, thereby letting it lapse. It will also
start negotiations with the opposition on all four of their
demands including the date for parliamentary elections.
Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze would start the
negotiations and later President Saakashvili would directly
participate. Bezhuashvili said that Georgia does not need
international mediation but could solve its own problems. He
said the government had decided to arrest Shalva Natelashvili
and Konstantine Gamsakhurdia but not other opposition
leaders, because the those two are the main beneficiaries of
Russian money and were ringleaders in what the Georgians
believe was a planned plot to use the November 2
demonstration as a means of overthrowing the government. A
final decision has not been taken on Imedi Television.
Bezhuashvili said the Ministry of Interior wants to
investigate the finances of the station, and its relationship
with Standard Bank, owned by Badri Patarkatsishvili. He is
trying to contact NewsCorp, the American company that is a
part owner of Imedi. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador underscored with Bezuashvili the
points delivered to the Foreign Minister by A/S Fried in a
telcon on November 7. Bezhuashvili told the Ambassador that
he had participated in a late night meeting with President
Saakashvili to discuss the way ahead from the current
political situation in Georgia, after A/S Fried's call and
another call from Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. He
said that he understands the message Fried was trying to
deliver but the government stands by its decision to declare
a state of emergency and close Imedi television.


3. (C) Bezhuashvili explained that the state of emergency
applies to the entire country. However, it involves
suspension of only three freedoms in the constitution, the
rights to strike, to hold demonstrations and to disseminate
information. All else, he said, remains the same as before
the declaration of the emergency. Some in the government had
advocated a stricter regime and arrests of opposition
leaders. As it is, he said, legal cases will be opened
against Shalva Natelashvili and Konstantine Gamsakhurdia.
Both these men have likely fled the country, leaving via
Tskhinvali in South Ossetia. Bezhuashvili confirmed that

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Koba Davitashvili is not dead or seriously injured. (Note:
Davitashvili was seen leaving the hospital in Gori after
being treated for injuries suffered during the
demonstrations.)


4. (C) Bezhuashvili insisted that the country was facing an
"existential threat" before the crackdown, but that the
situation on the streets is now fully under the government's
control. He said that two armed groups were ready to attack
on the evening of November 6, as part of a well-planned
attempt at violent regime change. Bezhuashvili conceded that
the forcible dispersal of the demonstrations had damaged the
Saakashvili government, but that the alternative was much
worse. The government acted legitimately, he said. The
state of emergency was announced to last for 15 days, but he
hopes that the situation will have returned so close to
normal that the emergency can be lifted within two days,
before the Parliament must vote on its continuation.


5. (C) Imedi will likely remain closed, Bezhuashvili said,
because of the danger the station will initiate a new round
of unrest. Its finances will be closely checked, as well as
its relationship with Standard Bank in Tbilisi, which is
owned by Badri Patarkatsishvili and no final decision has
been taken. Patarkatsishvili's threat to use all the
resources he has to overthrow the government was a clear
message that the government had to take action against Imedi,
he said. It was a national security issue, in his view. Had
the government not acted, he said, it would have been "1992
(i.e. civil war) all over again." He said that he and the
government realize the damage to Georgia's reputation caused
by closing Imedi. He is looking for a way to contact Rupert
Murdoch, the owner of NewsCorp, which is a partner with
Patarkatsishvili in Imedi. He thinks Murdoch may not be
aware of who his partner in Imedi is and what he has been up
to in Georgia.


6. (C) Bezhuashvili said that the missing element in the
otherwise well-planned effort against the government was
Irakli Okruashvili. The Russians had calculated that the
government would not dare to arrest Okruashvili after his
sensational charges against the President. Also, the turnout

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for the November 2 demonstration was not as large as
expected, and Bezhuashvili claimed that both Natelashvili and
Gamsakhurdia had received calls from Moscow chiding them for
not doing better. He said the government has proof that
Russian agents were paying demonstrators. He also implicated
Goga Khaindrava as a tool of the Russians.


7. (C) Bezhuashvili has instructed his deputy, Nika
Vashakidze, to go to Moscow November 9 and deliver a strong
message on both the alleged provocation of unrest in Tbilisi
and on the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. For now,
the GOG will hold off on demanding any changes to the
negotiating formats in those conflicts, he said.


8. (C) Bezhuashvili was conciliatory in tone toward other
members of the opposition, whom he said were not involved
with Patarkatsishvili or the Russians. The government will
now begin a renewed dialogue with these moderates, such as
Davit Usupashvili and Salome Zourabichvili. All four of the
opposition's election-related demands will be on the table,
Bezhuashvili said, even the date of elections.


9. (C) Bezhuashvili noted that the Russian Duma ratified the
adapted CFE treaty on November 7. He believes this makes the
Georgian concerns about the Russian military base at Gudauta
moot, and that ratification of the A/CFE will not be a
problem in Georgian domestic politics. "Let us know what you
need," he said, "and we will be there for you."


TEFFT