GEORGIA: A/S FRIED MEETS OPPOSITION, BOTH INSIDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001985

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR A/S FRIED AND EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RU GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: A/S FRIED MEETS OPPOSITION, BOTH INSIDE
AND OUT OF PARLIAMENT

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES KENT LOGSDON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (
D)


1. (C) Begin Summary: On October 20, Assistant Secretary
Daniel Fried and Ambassador Tefft met with Georgian
opposition parliamentarians. The MPs told Fried they were
working to help the country through its post-invasion
recovery and were pursuing democratic reforms. The group
spoke about the Anti-Crisis Commission (ACC),and its
progress to date on democratic and social reforms. The
Parliamentary Commission to investigate the August events,
headed by an oppositino MP, was focused on whether Georgia
could have avoided military action. Fried encouraged the
commission and opposition to ask hard questions. In a
separate meeting, Fried and the Ambassador met with civil
society representatives and the opposition outside
Parliament. The group believed that the country was divided,
and some argued that Saakashvili had too much power. They
claimed Georgian democracy hung the balance, and urged
conditionality for foreign aid to Georgia. Fried told both
groups that a military solution to Russian occupation did not
exist and urged their support for a peaceful way forward.
End Summary.

PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION FOCUSED ON THE TOUGH QUESTIONS AND
PARTY BUILDING


2. (C) On October 20, Assistant Secretary Daniel Fried and
Ambassador Tefft met with Georgian opposition
parliamentarians, including Christian Democratic Movement
(CDM) Chairman Giorgi Targamadze, Vice Speaker Levan
Vepkhvadze, Gia Tortladze, and Paata Davitaia. The MPs told
Fried they were pursuing democratic reforms in Georgia via
constitutional methods and believed they were making progress
developing an opposition with real political authority.


3. (C) Targamadze said his party was promoting peace and
development as a response to Russia's August invasion, while
trying to continue to build a grassroots following.
Tortladze, Chair of the ACC, explained the commission's
progress to date on democratic and social reforms, and its
continuing goals. He said progress has been made on
political party funding, media freedom, in particular
restoring some political talk shows, lowering small business
tax liability, and helping return the Writers and Composers
Building which was privatized. Tortladze cautioned that the
ACC must ontinue its efforts until the local elections of
2010 in order to ensure democratic reform would take hold.
Davitaia serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Commission
to investigate the August events. He told Fried that the
Commission was focused on investing the question of whether
Georgia could have avoided military action, rather than who
fired the first shot. Fried encouraged the commission and
Davitaia to ask hard questions about Georgian munitions and
tactics used in Tskhinvali and South Ossetia. Vepkhvadze
noted that he was the first opposition Vice Speaker in
Parliament since the Rose Revolution.


4. (C) Tortladze also asked Fried if Georgia could pursue a
bilateral agreement on defense with the United States, since
NATO MAP is extremely unlikely in November. Fried
acknowledged the request and said he would review it in
Washington.

CIVIL SOCIETY AND NON-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION


5. (C) In a separate meeting, Fried and the Ambassador met
with civil society representative and the non-Parliamentary
opposition. Attendees included former presidential candidate
Levan Gachechiladze, Republican Party Chairman David
Usupashvili, Conservative leader Kakha Kukava, Georgian Young
Lawyers Association (GYLA) Chairman Giorgi Chkheidze, and
QLawyers Association (GYLA) Chairman Giorgi Chkheidze, and
International Republican Institute (IRI) Chief of Party
Dimitry Shashkin. The opposition members claimed they were
working for unity in the country. Chkheidze said that
democratic reforms were needed, and urged progress on
democracy, media freedom, and the rule of law. Shashkin
pointed out that the Georgian people wanted dialogue between
the government and opposition, and IRI helped create the ACC
with this goal. Shashkin noted (supported by fresh polling
results reported septel) that Georgians perceived the country
was still under threat from Russia, and they were not
interested in domestic instability and internal conflict.


6. (C) Opposition leaders alleged that Saakashvili had
consolidated power via extra-legal means, co-opted the
Constitution to serve his interests, and eliminated
Parliament's power to serve as a check on the executive
branch. Usupashvili believed that the government wanted to
weaken Parliament as much as possible, and said the

TBILISI 00001985 002 OF 002


government directed all judges and the courts. Fried said
that democracy must be strengthened in Georgia and once power
was peacefully transferred through constitutional means
during normally-scheduled elections, Georgia would be
considered fully democratic. Gachechiladze and Kukava argued
that they were more effective in opposition outside
Parliament (they renounced their seats won in May),as
Saakashvili was only afraid of street protests and Russian
tanks. The politicians said their parties would not
participate in the November Ajara elections for the Supreme
Council, a local regional body. (Comment: None of their
parties would likely succeed in Ajara, so the boycott is
somewhat meaningless. End comment). In a seeming
contradiction, they claim new elections remain their ultimate
goal. On October 20, Gachechiladze publicly called for a
peaceful street rally on November 7 to remember the
government's crackdown last year; it remains unclear how many
people will turn out.


7. (C) Regarding the invasion and current situation,
Usupashvili suggested a roadmap of democratic reforms, and
urged that incoming foreign aid to Georgia be conditioned up
reforms by the government. He asked Fried to keep such
stipulations in mind at the Brussels donor conference.
Chkheidze agreed that dialogue and maximum transparency were
critical to any assistance plan designed to recover from the
invasion and develop the country. He noted that the
Parliamentary investigatory commission "does not include
non-political actors." Finally, Usupashvili said "democratic
reforms by the President would be the best answer to Russian
aggression," and again asked the U.S. and international
community to hold Saakashvili accountable for such reform.


8. (C) Fried told both groups that a military solution to
Russian occupation did not exist and urged all his
interlocutors to support peaceful resolutions to the
conflicts, no matter what the timeline. He argued that
economic and political development hold the key to Georgia's
future. Fried agreed that Georgian democracy needed much in
the way of development, and encouraged the opposition to
pursue it via constitutional methods.


9. (U) Assistant Secretary Fried has cleared this cable.
LOGSDON