GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSES INVESTIGATORY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002439

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RU GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSES INVESTIGATORY
COMMITTEE REPORT, NOT ALL AGREE

REF: A. TBILISI 2420

B. TBILISI 2399


1. (SBU) Summary: In a unanimous vote of 88 to none on
December 19, Georgia's Parliament formally endorsed the
report and conclusion presented by the ad-hoc Committee to
Investigate August Events (ref A). Parliamentary Speaker
David Bakradze spoke highly of the Committee's work.
Opposition Vice-Speaker Levan Vepkhvadze publicly expressed
hope that the government would implement the report's 12
recommendations, as well as dismay that former Foreign
Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili was appointed Secretary of the
NSC. Some government officials disagreed with the
Committee's criticism of their actions. One MP, Jondi
Baghaturia, criticized the committee for its
"contradictions." Non-parliamentary opposition figures
continue to disparage the Committee's work as "biased and
untruthful." The Committee's report has already borne fruit,
as Committee member MP Dimitry Lortkipanidze plans to
introduce a new law covering Georgia's civil defense in
Spring 2009. Given the report's reasonable conclusions, the
onus is now on the government to address its recommendations.
End Summary.

PARLIAMENT, SPEAKER ENDORSE REPORT


2. (U) On December 19, Georgia's Parliament adopted the
conclusions of the ad-hoc Committee Investigating August
Events (ref A). The vote was unanimous, with 88 in favor and
none opposed. Both government and opposition MPs present
voted in favor. (Note: Parliament has 138 members; te
outstanding 50 were not present for the vote. End note.)
Speaker Bakradze praised the Committee's work and said the
government was committed to follow the report's
recommendations. Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze echoed
Bakradze's statement.

OPPOSITION CALL FOR IMPLEMENTATION


3. (U) Opposition Vice-Speaker, and Committee member, Levan
Vepkhvadze (of the Christian-Democratic Movement) said he
hopes the executive branch of government will accept and
implement the Committee's recommendations as guidelines in
its future work. At the same time, Vepkhvadze said he was
dissatisfied that former FM Eka Tkeshelashvili was appointed
Secretary of the NSC, because her performance during the war
was criticized in the Committee report.

EXECUTIVES DISAGREE WITH CRITICISM


4. (U) Executive branch officials, including Minister of
Energy Alexandre Khetaguri and head of the Abkhaz
government-in-exile Malkhaz Akishbaia both disagreed with the
Committee's criticism of their performances. Khetaguri
claimed that there were no disruptions in energy supplies
during the war. Akishbaia stressed that due to safety
reasons, he could not have physically gone to the Kodori
Gorge during the invasion.

SOME OPPOSITION CRITICIZE REPORT AND COMMITTEE


5. (SBU) Lone wolf opposition MP Jondi Baghaturia strongly
criticized the committee, saying its report is untrustworthy
since "it contradicts itself on many issues." Baghaturia
argued the Committee "did not study who was responsible for
the weak performance of the rear, said nothing on the
non-targeted expenditure of Defense funds, and ignored the
fact that during the war soldiers abandoned by their
commanders had nothing to eat but unripe fruit for 3-4 days."
(Note: Baghaturia was formally a member of the Committee,
but refused to participate. End note.) Non-parliamentary
opposition politicians have disparaged the Committee and its
work since inception. Most claim the Committee was designed
to "whitewash" the government's failure in the war. New
Rightist Mamuka Katsitadze and Conservative Kakha Kukava
(both former MPs who refused to take their seats in
Q(both former MPs who refused to take their seats in
Parliament in June) said the Committee was biased in its
investigation and untruthful in its conclusions.

NEXT STEPS


6. (U) Opposition MP and Committee member Dimitry
Lortkipanidze (formerly of the United Opposition) was the
first to act on the Committee's report. He announced that he
plans to introduce a draft law on Georgia's Civil Defense in
Parliament's 2009 spring session. Lortkipanidze claimed the
report's conclusions showed the weakness of civil defense in
Georgia, and the need for a separate structure (to manage
evacuations, shelter displaced persons, etc.) Committee

TBILISI 00002439 002 OF 002


Chairman Paata Davitaia said he supports Lortkipanidze's
initiative.

COMMENT


7. (SBU) Public reaction to the report has been varied and
watchful; interest remains high. Generally, public sentiment
seems to mirror that of the politicians, with most supporting
the Committee's integrity and work. We believe that the
report draws two justifiable conclusions: the events of
August were the result of multiple actions that were
initiated much earlier and exploited militarily by Russia;
and the Georgian government must now correct their systemic
and personnel failures exposed by Russia's invasion. Two
clear examples of needed action include Lortkipanidze's law
on Civil Defense, and the Christian-Democratic Movement's
proposal for a new NSC structure (ref B). The onus is now on
the government to address and implement the Committee's
recommendations, now and into the future. End Comment.
TEFFT