A/S KRAMER MEETINGS WITH OPPOSITION, PUBLIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001163 SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM GG SUBJECT: A/S KRAMER MEETINGS WITH OPPOSITION, PUBLIC DEFENDER, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND JUDICIAL REFORM ADVOCATES Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary and Comment: On June 25, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) David J. Kramer and the Ambassador met with the Public Defender, Georgian opposition leaders, civil society and those involved in judicial reforms to discuss the state of human rights conditions in Georgia. The opinions of the first three groups converged on the government's over-centralization of power, perceived lack of media freedom, intimidation of opposition activists before and after the Parliamentary elections, and the government's focus on implementing reforms rather than including a variety of views. The common threads of opinion between the groups unraveled over the fairness of Parliamentary elections with Joint Opposition party representatives alleging the Parliamentary election results were not legitimate and International Society for Fair and Democratic Elections and Transparency International Representatives noting that while the process was not perfect, the Parliamentary results were greatly improved over the Presidential elections. Regardless of the group, all would like more dialogue with the government in formulating policy, although some groups are withdrawing from the political process. The interlocutors urged the United National Movement UNM) to do more to build a strong multi-party Parliament. A/S Kramer noted the troubling consolidation of television broadcasting in Georgia and agreed to raise the issue with key GoG officials. Judges and members of the Georgian Bar Association talked about recent reforms, but acknowledged that public trust in the judiciary is still quite low. End Comment and Summary. -------------- Public Defender--Sozar Subari -------------- ¶2. (C) Subari began by describing his cool relationship with the Saakashvili administration, which got off to a rocky start in 2004, just after he assumed office, when he openly supported the return of Georgians from Russia through South Ossetia, which the government portrayed as breaking immigration laws. As he sees it, his strained relations with the Saakashvili government afford him little room for maneuver, as he has few strong allies or friends within the government. Subari stated his appreciation for the U.S. Embassy and the international community's help bringing to light some of the tough human rights questions in Georgia. Since he took office in 2004, Subari's focus has been on reducing the instances of use of excessive force by police and maltreatment of detainees in prisons. He has recently focused attention on addressing the cases of 16 people who were beaten after May 21 Parliamentary elections, urging the government to take a more active role in investigating the incidents. Subari has effectively used the media and has received extensive media coverage of his activities. A/S Kramer commended him for his good work and encouraged him to reach out and build consensus with UNM members to help him have more impact in addressing human rights concerns. -------------- Opposition Parties -------------- ¶3. (C) Representatives from the Joint Opposition, Christian-Democratic Movement, the Republicans and Labor Parties all shared the view that the government acted improperly during both elections, abandoning democratic reforms and consolidating power. Giorgi Targamadze, Christian-Democratic Movement, (whose party won eight percent in May and entered Parliament) said that Saakashvili has consolidated all political power under his control. He claimed a free media no longer exists on television and urged the U.S. to restore media and democracy assistance programs like those in the late 1990s, to foster new leaders. Targamadze, in contrast to the others, said his party joined Parliament in order to try and effect positive change within the system. The party representatives were concerned by recent beatings of party activists, and voiced frustration at the government's failure to address these incidents seriously. (Comment: The Prosecutor General's Office said they are investigating four cases, but the others lacked sufficient evidence. End comment.) Party leaders acknowledged that the Joint Opposition is now worse off than it was in September 2007 due to mistakes during both election campaigns and the interim negotiations with the government. They asserted that the international community erred by not understanding the ruling party's intent to consolidate power. Democratic and human rights, in their minds, are being diminished and the international community appears to be more concerned with stability than with freedom. TBILISI 00001163 002 OF 002 -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶4. (C) Topics at the civil society dinner, attended by representatives from Transparency International, Caucasus School of Journalism, Penal Reform International, Georgian Young Lawyers (GYLA),International Society for Fair and Democratic Elections (ISFED) and Liberty Institute, spanned the Human Rights continuum, but primarily focused on the following: media freedom issues, lack of pluralism in decision making, and the psychology of Georgian character which seems to preclude compromise in politics for fear of appearing weak. Most admitted the government has made impressive strides in reforming the police, stamping out corruption, and promoting religious freedom, but pointed out that other areas are either being ignored or undermined. They characterized diversity and editorial independence of TV media as diminished, due to consolidation of ownership of national channels. Nino Danelia, Caucasus School of Journalism, attributed the pressure on journalists as a result of market pressure on owners rather than pressure from the government. She went on to say that some media outlet owners are linked to the ruling party, which pressures journalists to find "sound bites" to support government programs. This has the overall affect of lowering standards for journalists. All agreed that although print journalism may be considered the most "free", less than five percent of the population reads the papers, which are not sold by subscription. For the moment, television stations tend to reflect the editorial policies of their owners and talk shows typically feature politicians screaming at each other or at journalists. ¶5. (C) Members of the group discussed the critical necessity of compromise in pluralism, but maintained this idea is absent in the Georgian psyche. Georgians want a "macho" leader and compromise to them wreaks of weakness. ISFED noted that if initially Levan Gachechiladze, Joint Opposition, had approval ratings in the 40th percentile in January, they fell to the teens by May because he miscalculated how to fulfill the archetype "macho" image. His key misstep was when he began to use obscene language with female journalists and to talk about Nino Burjanadze in vulgar terms, which turned key supporters against him. According to the ISFED rep, being "macho" means being tough, but not vulgar, and especially not with women. The GYLA rep pointed out that David Usupashvili's willingness to reach out to the UNM and work as a bridge between the majority and opposition was what cost him eventually his Parliament seat--dialogue to some, equals "loser." -------------- Judicial Reform -------------- ¶6. (C) The Deputy Supreme Court Justice recounted judicial reforms made in Georgia during the last years, underlining the watershed last year of the passage a law banning ex parte communications and citing statistics to show that the number of those judged guilty who receive imprisonment (44 percent) is significantly lower than before, due to the use of bail and plea bargaining. He did not refute A/S Kramer's observation that public perception of the judiciary is very low, but explained that the state is very young and those who are part of the judiciary are still acquiring the skills needed to operate in an independent state. David Lanchava, a defense attorney and member of the Georgian Bar Association (GBA),asserted that the progress of reforms in the Prosecutor's Office and the patrol police were successful due to strong reformers at the top, namely Zurab Adeishvili and Vano Merabashvili. This is missing in the judiciary. Lanchava voiced his opinion that the changes in the law have weakened the role of the advocates (defense lawyers) at the expense of the prosecutors. He went on to say that in his experience 90 percent of judges are knowledgable and are not corrupt, but they need to be bolder in their decision making role. Medea Dematrashvili, Ethics Committee, GBA, added that much has been done to address ethical behavior--legislation, training--but so far it has not solved the problem in its entirety. ¶7. (U) A/S Kramer did not have the opportunity to clear this cable. TEFFT